The Empowerment and Potential of Women and Girls in ICT and Coding project aims to bridge the digital gender divide by providing ICT and coding education to secondary school girls and students with disabilities in Shatt al-Arab, Basra, Iraq. Despite ICT being part of the curriculum, schools in the region lack trained teachers and access to computers, leaving many young people, particularly girls and those with disabilities, without essential digital skills. This project directly addresses these challenges by equipping students with MS Office proficiency, Python programming skills, and internationally recognized certifications to enhance their future employment opportunities.

The project follows a Training of Trainers (ToT) model, strengthening the capacities of local teachers, ensuring long-term sustainability, and fostering an inclusive digital learning ecosystem. By collaborating with schools, local education authorities, and NGOs, the initiative promotes digital inclusion and equal access to ICT education. Additionally, the program integrates advocacy for students with disabilities, ensuring they have equal opportunities in the digital economy.

Through structured training, direct hands-on classes and industry exposure the project seeks to empower local teachers, young women and marginalized students, enabling them to pursue careers in technology and break traditional societal barriers. This initiative serves as a scalable model for expanding ICT education in other underserved communities.

https://mercyhandseurope.org/education/

• Shatt al-Arab District, Basra, Iraq, Iraq

• Youth
• Women
• People with disabilities

The ICT and Coding Education Initiative is highly replicable due to its scalable, adaptable, and resource-efficient design. The project follows a Training of Trainers (ToT) model, ensuring that local teachers receive training and can independently continue delivering digital education beyond the project’s timeline. This creates a sustainable cycle of knowledge transfer, allowing the model to be easily replicated in other schools and regions. Additionally, the curriculum—focusing on basic to advanced ICT and coding skills, including Microsoft Office and Python programming—is widely applicable and can be adjusted to different age groups, skill levels, and learning environments. The integration of existing school infrastructure, partnerships with local education authorities, and cost-sharing strategies (such as leveraging donated or shared ICT equipment) further enhances replicability. The initiative can be implemented in other marginalized communities, particularly those with limited digital access, as it effectively addresses barriers related to gender, disability, and socio-economic status. By demonstrating successful outcomes in Basra, Iraq, the project serves as a model for expansion in other regions facing similar digital exclusion challenges.

The ICT and Coding Education Initiative is designed for long-term sustainability by incorporating teacher training, institutional partnerships, and local engagement to ensure lasting impact beyond the project's duration. A key component of sustainability is the Training of Trainers (ToT) model, which equips local teachers with ICT and coding skills, enabling them to continue digital education in schools even after external funding ends. By integrating MS Office proficiency and Python programming into the curriculum, the project ensures that students receive future-ready skills that are valuable in the job market, increasing their long-term employability and economic independence.

To sustain the initiative, the project partners with local education authorities, NGOs, and industry stakeholders, fostering multi-sector collaboration for continued technical and financial support. Regular meetings with the Directorate of Education (DoE) ensure that ICT education remains a priority, while cost-sharing mechanisms—such as equipment rental agreements and teacher salary contributions—help integrate ICT training into existing school programs. Additionally, the project’s enterprise open days and industry exposure activities provide students with real-world insights into the ICT sector, reinforcing their motivation to pursue technology-related careers.

Community engagement is another pillar of sustainability, as the project includes advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the importance of digital education. By demonstrating the benefits of ICT training, the initiative shifts societal perceptions, encouraging more families and schools to support digital learning for girls and students with disabilities. As the project comes to an end, there will be a donation of laptops and equipment to a nominated school with a view to creating a computer lab for continuing ICT education to service both as an incentive and contribution to the local education community and to ensure project replication and continuation.

This project strongly aligns with WSIS values by promoting digital inclusion, capacity building, and gender equality in ICT education within a marginalized community. By bridging the digital gender divide, it ensures that secondary school girls and students with disabilities in Shatt al-Arab, Basra, Iraq gain critical digital skills necessary for future employment and active participation in the digital economy. The project directly supports WSIS Action Lines C3 (Access to Information and Knowledge), C4 (Capacity Building), and C7 (E-learning) by equipping students with MS Office proficiency, Python programming skills, and internationally recognized certifications. Furthermore, the Training of Trainers (ToT) model empowers local teachers, ensuring long-term sustainability of ICT education in schools where digital learning is often inaccessible. The initiative fosters collaborations with schools, education authorities, and NGOs, advocating for inclusive policies that support equal access to digital education for girls and students with disabilities. By integrating field visits to ICT workplaces, the project also exposes students to career opportunities in technology, challenging traditional norms that limit women’s participation in STEM fields. Through community engagement and awareness campaigns, it highlights the importance of digital literacy, ensuring that marginalized groups are included in Iraq’s evolving digital landscape, in full alignment with WSIS goals for a more inclusive Information Society.