International Girls in ICT Day: Witness efforts to bridge gender digital divide

International Girls in ICT Day aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of ICTs.

International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative backed by all International Telecommunication Union (ITU) member states and is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of April. This year it is being observed on 25th April. Girls in ICT Day aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of ICTs, enabling both girls and technology companies to reap the benefits of greater female participation in the ICT sector.

Girls in ICT Day contributes to the EQUALS mission of bridging the gender digital divide.

Over 357,000 girls and young women have already taken part in more than 11,100 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 171 countries worldwide.​ Government ministries, national ICT regulatory authorities, ICT companies, academic institutions, UN agencies, and NGOs around the world are all encouraged to join the global effort and ​​celebrate International Girls in ICT Day.

How International Girls in ICT Day was celebrated this year

The ITU Regional Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is held a global celebration at the African Union headquarters to mark International Girls in ICT Day.

#GirlsinICT Day events expand horizons across the globe https://t.co/Zwrx2HhAIU pic.twitter.com/zkQdhrRDoq

— ITU (@ITU) April 25, 2019

ITU's office in Moscow hosted administrations, universities, international and regional organizations to show their support for Girls in ICT.

В Региональном офисе @ITU проходит Конференция, посвященная международному дню #GirlsInICT с участием представителей Администраций связи, ВУЗов, международных и региональных организаций стран региона @ITUMoscow @equals pic.twitter.com/daWGx4oZSg

— ITU Moscow (@ITUMoscow) April 22, 2019

In Europe, ITU is working with organizations like CERN, EBU, RightsTechWomen and many more to host training sessions for girls that include coding, programming robots, digital broadcasting and more.

Join RTW, @ITU, @CERN and many other organizers to celebrate #girlsinICT Day! On April 25, we'll bring Poppy Ergo Jr robots @GenerationRobot to #CERN and help to teach girls from the #Geneva area the basics of robotics and programming. Stay tuned! 🤖👉 https://t.co/hfzhuAHJVB

— RightsTech Women (@RightsTechWomen) April 23, 2019

The ITU Asia-Pacific Office hosted Girls in ICT Day events in Jakarta, Indonesia and Cyberjaya, Malaysia. ITU with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Thailand), NBTC, CCDKM, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is organizing a training on "Agritech Using ICTs" for girls and young women on 8 and 9 May 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, ITU participated in an event organized by Orange Egypt and the British University, Cairo. And will be remotely joining events in Gaza, Palestine.

In New York, ITU's Liason Office is at Cornell University with partners UNICEF, Women in IT and Entrepreneurship New York, UN International Computing Center and the NYC Mayor's Office of International Affairs to run a 'Design Thinking Workshop.'

#GirlsinICT day is finally here! In NY, we are celebrating w @UNICC_info @UNICEF @WiTNYEvent @globalnyc @CornellTechNYC w girls, boys & women in tech from all sectors. Here are some short videos with career advice from some ICT mentors to girls in tech: https://t.co/LByR65eYln

— ITU Liaison Office with the UN in New York (@ITU_UNHQ) April 25, 2019