Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC)

4/25/2018

Africa, Nigeria, Nigeria

PLAN FOR W.TEC 2018 INTERNATIONAL GIRLS IN ICT DAY CELEBRATION

INTRODUCTION

The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) will be celebrating the International Girls in ICT Day with female students between the ages of 13-17 in three (3) public and private secondary schools in Nigeria- Lagos State and Kwara State.

          

               Lagos state celebration details:

The day will be celebrated in 2 Locations in Lagos in partnership with Reagan Memorial Baptist Girl Secondary School and Laureates College respectively.

• An ICT career talk session with 100 girls of Reagan Memorial Baptist Girl Secondary School, Yaba Lagos on the 25^th, April 2018
• A website design hackathon and career awareness session with 20 students of Laureates College, Mafoluku, Lagos on the 26^th, April, 2018. Some of the participants of this session will be alumnae of the W.TEC Girls Technology Camp- The W.TEC Girls Technology Camp is an annual residential girl’s technology education and mentoring programme aimed at helping girls develop an early interest in computers and other information technology. The long-term goal of the camp is to increase the number of women working with and using information technology productively for academics, professional and leadership activities.

               Kwara state celebration details:

W.TEC will be collaborating with Oracle and the Ministry of Education, Ilorin, Kwara state to hold a day ICT seminar on the 2^nd of May, 2018 for the W.TEC Academy beneficiaries in Ilorin, Kwara state- W.TEC Academy is an after-school technology training scheme for female students in secondary schools. It is an initiative that aims to inspire Nigerian girls in secondary schools to discover an early interest in technology and consider technology-related educational opportunities and careers.

THE EVENT: 

The W.TEC’s International Girls in ICT Day events is geared towards achieving the day’s initiative backed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States, to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication.

The events will feature keynote female speakers in the ICT field who will serve as role models for the girls. Short film of some accomplished women in the ICT field and young girls like them who are already doing amazingly in tahe technology sphere will also be shared with them- this will further inspire and encourage the girls to aim higher, embrace, and strive to take up careers in technology.

OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY:

• The event will be a learning platform as well as an interactive medium for the girls to be inspired in the field and ask pressing question. Sessions of the day will require the ICT role models/ speakers to share their personal experience in ways that will highlight the following aspects:
• Self-awarness & developing interest for ICT
• What it like to join the ICT work force
• Future Opportunities in Nigeria ICT Sector
• Career options in ICT

Some students of the W.TEC Academy will also share stories about the ICT skills they have learnt from the Academy and how it has impacted them.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENT: 

The event will help students to work in team to building ICT project, have a better understanding of the opportunities in the ICT sector and give them the opportunity and channel to start think and working towards exploring career opportunities and options related to ICT as they advance in their studies.

ABOUT W.TEC

Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre - W.TEC is a Nigeria non-governmental organization that seeks to build the capacities of Nigerian girls and women, to increase their economic power and ability to speak about issues affecting their lives, through information and communication technology (ICT) - based training, mentoring, career counseling and research.

W.TEC trains women and girls to use ICT for learning, professional development and civic engagement. Through the use of social media, W.TEC supports women in their use of technology to uplift women’s rights and establish a network of technology-fluent women.

W.TEC started operations in January 2008, but legal registration was completed in March 2008. The idea was born when Founder/Executive Director Oreoluwa Somolu was conducting research for her Masters Degree thesis on how information and communication technology (ICT) use by women in developing countries could contribute to development.

From personal experience working with women and girls, Oreoluwa saw how subsidized or free classes and access to computers and the internet could attract more women, and the potential for economic and social empowerment. W.TEC provides ICT (specifically computers, internet, phones) training and access, mentoring and career counselling programmes, and researches how ICTs can be made more participatory for Nigerian girls and women.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre - W.TEC

2, Babalola Garden, Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria

Website: www.wtec.org.ng

Phone: +234.809.781.4542, +234.818.870.9251

E-mail: info@wtec.org.ng

Blog: www.wtec.org.ng/blog

Twitter: @wteconline

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wteconlinepage

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wtec/