ITU

Event Information Photos
Event Name
Activity report
Date of the event
23/04/2020
Country
Chad
City
N'Djamena
Description of the event

Introduction:

Informationand Communication Technologies (ICT) are flooding the society of the 21stcentury, and no economic actor can envisage the future without an intensiveexploitation of these technologies. Since April 2013, the association Actionpout Education and Promotion of Women (AEPF-Chad) participates in theorganization of the International Day of young girls in the ICT sectoralongside the Ministry of Posts and New Technologies Information andCommunication. The 2020 edition saw the participation of more than 80 girlsbetween the ages of 14 and 24, from different secondary schools anduniversities in N'Djamena.

1- Celebration of the International Day of Young Girls in ICT, COVID-19version

The Action for Education and Promotion of Women(AEPF-Chad) participated alongside the Ministry of Posts and New Technologiesof Information and Communication (MPNTIC) once again, in the organization ofthe International Day of Young Girls in the ICT sector, 2020 edition.

 International Girls’ Day in the ICTsector is established by the International Telecommunication Union andcelebrated in more than 150 countries around the world. The objective of thiscelebration “is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) definedby the United Nations, in particular SDG 5, which aims to achieve genderequality and empower all women and girls, especially through ICT ”.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the measuresset by the Chadian government, the ministry in charge of ICT deemed it usefulto celebrate this day in virtual format. A virtual videoconference wasorganized on this occasion. 80 girls from 5 high schools and 3 higher educationinstitutes connected by being in their respective establishments to follow thedebate live on the theme: "promoting careers offered by ICT to young womenand girls". The conference is also broadcast on social networks. Allsanitary measures have been taken so that girls can profit without endangeringonline exchanges with women leaders in the field of ICT. Doctors with a smallteam of nursing staff crisscross the different sites (schools) to enforce thebarrier measures against the Corona virus. The activities went withoutincident.

Very rich exchanges took place between womenmaking careers in the fields of the TIC and the young girls and also fruitfulsharing on the opportunities which the TIC offers. The panels were mainly madeup of women. High school girls have asked a lot of questions about theopportunities that ICT offers in employment and study.

2- Appraisalsand prospects:

Since 2013,the celebration of the international day of young girls in the ICT sector hasbeen an opportunity to train girls from secondary schools in computer scienceand the Internet, training on the importance of ICT in studies and also anopportunity to raise awareness. girls in responsible use of the internet andonline safety. Over the past six (6) years, more than 1,000 girls havebenefited from ICT training and some are studying higher education in the ICTfield and others are using it to boost their studies or take online courses.

In 2020, theCOVID-19 pandemic did not allow girls to benefit from computer and Internettraining as usual. But, despite the confinement, the girls were able to interactwith the women leaders who work in the ICT field. It was a first in Chad and avery good experience to transcend distances.

2-1- Inventory of the use of ICT inChad:

 InChad, our education system is still struggling to integrate digital cultureinto everyday teaching practices.

Internetconnections in schools are often non-existent to allow comfortable use ofmultimedia content which enriches educational products and visual exchangesbetween classes. The rate of trained teachers remains extremely low, andparticipation in ICT dissemination and exploitation programs remains limited,even anecdotal. ICT is not yet included in the educational project of theChadian national education. “There are many students who learn in overcrowded,poorly furnished classrooms and who often have to share too few textbooks. Theteachers are not always qualified, but they still do their best with a minimumof resources. The school curriculum is often too diverse and in some respectspoorly suited to the students and their needs. ”

Can theschool remain on the sidelines of this (r) evolution? Without a proactiveapproach, it is to be feared that too few teachers will dare or be able tosupport their students in learning digital culture.

In addition,young people seem more apt to learn about technology than adults, and afortiori than the elderly. Too little integration of ICT in the educationalpath of young people poses a double risk at school:

- On the onehand, the digital skills of graduates no longer necessarily correspond toemployers' expectations. The need to develop a real critical sense also becomesa real social issue with the exponential increase in the volume of information;

- On theother hand, dialogue with young people becomes more and more difficult as theschool loses contact with the development of ICT.

 

2-2- Online security:

 

Researchshows that online risk classification is almost similar from country tocountry. These risks are:

- Onlinecommunication with a person they have never met in the real world;

- Exposure tocontent promoting anorexia, drug use or terrorism;

- Exposure tosexual (pornographic) images;

- Misuse ofpersonal data;

- Physicalmeeting with the person met online; online harassment.

New behaviorpatterns are appearing: sending / receiving sexual images betweencorrespondents. New services, such as geolocation services, bring new risks forchildren who do not always have the skills to consider them critically. Inaddition, the use of the Internet for indoctrination and recruitment ofchildren into networks and / or terrorist acts or trafficking in human beingsis to be feared.

Children(girls and boys) must be sufficiently informed not only of the risks to whichthey are exposed and the opportunities offered to them online, but also of thetools and strategies for their protection by themselves or by those close tothem. They must be assisted in the perspective of the best development of theircritical thinking and digital and communicative skills online.

Awareness-raisingand capacity-building actions must aim to equip the majority of young Chadianboys and girls with the capacities necessary for their self-protection andself-responsibility online.

But to evolvein our digital societies and understand the world around us, it is nownecessary to have a digital understanding tool in the broad sense. As citizens,it is important that young girls and boys are not passive digital users /consumers. It is therefore essential to strengthen the skills of young peopleand especially girls by allowing them to confront without apprehension computerthinking and algorithmic logic, in particular through learning coding.

The AEPF-Chadhas a project to organize training for girls in the field of computer codingduring the summer holidays. But we are sorely lacking in material, technicaland financial means to implement projects to empower girls.

We expectgoodwill of multifaceted support in the realization of our projects.

 

2-3- The use of social networks

The general observation made on the use of theInternet in Chad is that more than 80% of users spend more time on networks,especially on Facebook and WhatsApp. The content exchanged is dominated by thesharing of images and videos. But young people are completely unaware of therisks that they have by posting their images, by giving detailed information ontheir families, their places of work or studies, their travel plans and theplace of destination. All this information (data) is collected and sold. Thereare also malicious people who can use this data for the purpose of causingharm. Efforts must be made to make young people aware of the identical andresponsible use of social networks.

Conclusion:

We can buildand deconstruct through education. The vision of Chadian society and the worldcan only be realized through education. Let’s help empower the new generationto face the current challenges dominated by the massive use of ICT.

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Website
https://web.facebook.com/AEPFTchad/
Entity organizing the event, organizers
AEPF-Tchad in partnership with the Ministry of Posts and New Technologies of Information and Communication and its sub-supervisory entities and House of Africa Chad