Encouraging girls to go into ICT: Key to development
As part of global efforts to empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in the growing fields of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) instituted the International Girls in ICT Day in Geneva in 2010 to inspire girls to consider a career in technology.
The day is celebrated in April every year across over 150 countries globally, to raise awareness of the current shortage of qualified people and the bright prospects offered by the ever-growing needs of the ICT sector, as well as the importance of bridging the gender gap in what is still erroneously considered a male-dominated sector.
Among the most popular types of events being engaged in by most stakeholders and partners in celebrating the day is organising visits for schoolchildren and students to ICT companies, innovation centres, radio studios, regulatory authorities or mobile phone companies.
To mark this year’s event in Ghana, a programme was organised in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, on the theme: "Girls in ICT: Key to entrepreneurship and development," in line with efforts to encourage girls to go into ICT.
Girls train in ICT
In an address read on his behalf, the Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane-Boamah, announced that 1,080 girls from 158 junior high schools in the region had successfully undergone a two-week training programme to enhance their knowledge in ICT.
The girls were selected from the Bole, Gambaga, Walewale, Gushegu,Tamale, Sagnarigu, Bimbilla, Yendi, Savelugu, Karaga, Buipe and Saboba districts.
He said since its inception, the celebration of the International Girls in ICT Day in Ghana had been held in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta regions, indicating that the government was pursuing a vigorous national broadband infrastructure development to reach all parts of the country to provide enough bandwidth capacity for ICT development.
Dr Omane-Boamah noted that with the availability of broadband infrastructure, the government expected to rapidly expand access to quality education and place technology at the centre in building a knowledge-based economy and society.
Connectivity
He said the completion of the laying of the Eastern Corridor Optic Fibre Transmission Network would bring connectivity to more than 120 rural communities and improve access to data, voice and video services in the communities along the stretch.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Abdallah Abubakari, commended the Ministry of Communications for choosing the region to host the event, emphasising that the region was making all efforts to get a lot of girls and young women into ICT careers.
He, however, urged parents and guardians to continue to invest in their children's education.
