​​THE DEPARTMENT OF E-COMMERCE – BERMUDA GOVERNMENT​

HAMILTON, Bermuda, 2016, April 28​​

The Department of E-Commerce ran three events to mark the occasion: a call for nominations of "Bermuda's Inspiring Woman in ICT" and two competitions for the Island's students and awarded prizes to the winners at Connectech with standing room only.

In advance of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Girls in ICT Day, the Bermuda public was invited to nominate a woman who is based in Bermuda and who stands out in the Island's ICT sector. The Department of E-Commerce received many worthy nominations, confirming that the Island's ICT sector is replete with female leaders.

The judges selected Coral Wells who, both in her personal and professional capacity, consistently works to boost ICT in Bermuda. Mrs. Wells is active in numerous businesses and charitable endeavours that strive to expose Bermuda's youth to ICT in meaningful ways. Through her engagement in the ICT sector and in her community, she has been a true inspiration to girls interested in ICT.

The Department of E-Commerce also organized a poster-colouring competition. The staff hand-delivered over 4,000 posters to the public and private primary school across the Island and every boy and girl was encouraged to participate. The image on the poster, created by caricaturist Cristina Capelo, featured 6 international women ICT leaders. Submissions poured in, making it a hard task for the judges to select the winning posters, and resulting in long, details deliberations. There were five (5) prize winners.

Last but not least, all secondary-school students (both boys and girls) were encouraged to produce 30-second video clips which centered on girls and ICT. Once again, the judges were given the difficult task of selecting only 3 winners.

Dr. Marisa Stones, Director of the Department of E-Commerce stated: "The aim of this event is to encourage, foster, and mentor our young women to consider ICT as a career path, to grow in the ICT industry, and to eventually take on leadership positions." She added, "We were very pleased and proud to celebrate the inspiring ICT women who are in our midst and to celebrate the young students who worked so hard on their competition submissions, and with such a tight deadline!"

She added: "the Department of E-Commerce would like to thank our judges for their time and support for this initiative: Nancy Volesky, Director of the Privacy Project, Aderonke Bademosi Wilson, Director of Government's Department of Communication and Information, Vicki Coelho, Fireminds' non-executive chairwoman, Shan Senanayake, Network Engineer at The CCS Group Ltd, and Sandra DeSilva, Managing Director of Nova Limited. Additionally, we are grateful to the teachers, parents and students who took the time to participate in this initiative."

Click here to download the winning posters: winning_posters_bermuda 2016.pdf