National Frequency Management Unit - Essequibo
Anna Regina, Essequibo, Guyana, 2014, April 24
After successfully hosting two Tech Day Camps in observance of Girls in ICT Day 2014, a grand symposium was held at the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School to celebrate the day itself. The event was knit into the National Science and Technology Fair which was being hosted at the same venue.
The event featured presentations by the Minister of Human Service, Hon. Jennifer Webster, leading female ICT professionals, a Q&A segment and interactive booths which featured various aspects of ICTs:
- Networking and Computer Repairs
- Algorithm & Program Development
- Graphic & Web Design
- ICTs 4 Development
- Cyber Security
Girls in attendance were surprised to learn that many of the female ICT professionals were from rural areas. They expressed amazement at the achievements made by the presenters and were also quite surprised at how young and accomplished the ladies were. The girls wanted information on what is required to start an ICT career and how they could study for these careers using distance education.
The "Girls in ICT Guyana" Facebook page was promoted as a means of keeping in contact with the students present at the event.
Parents and teachers in attendance expressed interest in having career talks being conducted in schools around the country. They also expressed interest in having experienced programmers educate teachers and students alike on a long term basis.
Among other activities girls were exposed to creating simple webpages using basic HTML. They were quite excited to see code being translated into a graphical interface. The girls had much fun at the PC Repairs booth where they were asked to identify the internal components of a PC.
The event was successful and left an indelible mark in the minds of the presenters and students. New friendships and partnerships were forged with the intent of keeping the initiative alive.
Event Sponsors: National Frequency Management Unit, E Government Guyana, One Laptop Per Family Project
Tokens: Digicel, GT&T, Computrain, E-Networks, Vishnu Panday and Associates
