“Inspire and aspire to lead Digital Pacific”

Background

International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated worldwide every year on the fourth Thursday of April with the objectives of encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM education, inspiring girls and young women to work in STEM careers and engaging the community and promoting collaboration through partnerships. It aims to address the core challenge of low women presence in the field of STEM education including information and communication technologies. The gap is even more pronounced at the leadership position. This gap is also prevalent in the Pacific. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027) for the Pacific signed by the UN agencies and the Governments recognizes the need for inclusion under Pillar 2 of its 4 pillars (Planet, People, Prosperity and Peace). The People pillar envisions and recognizes in particular the need for digital inclusion.

“By 2027, more people, particularly those at risk of being left behind, benefit from more equitable access to resilient, and gender-responsive, quality basic services, food security/nutrition and social protection systems”

Girls in ICT (GICT) Day provides an opportunity for girls and young women to see and be exposed to the benefit of ICT in enabling their career aspirations. To date, over 377,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 11,400 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 171 countries worldwide. In 2024, the theme for GICT is “Leadership” with the focus on inspiring girls and young women by exposing them to women in leadership position and facilitating that break down the hinderances.

Pacific Girls in ICT Day 2023 launch event, 27 April 2023

Drawing upon the success of developing national and regional programmes for Girls in ICT, the Pacific Girls in ICT Day Programme was launched on 27th April 2023 together with national government, UN agencies, Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC). Over a period of 6 months (27 April-20 October, 2023), more than 1000 girls and young women from the Pacific raise awareness and skills through a range of activities in Fiji (275 participants, 9 trainings in Cybersecurity (Online Safety & Online Scamming), coding, emerging technologies, telecommunications, leaderships, career development); Tonga, (260 participants, 5 trainings in Cybersecurity (Online Safety), leaderships, career development and digital financial literacy); Federated States of Micronesia (40 participants, 2 trainings in Cybersecurity (Online Safety)); Nauru (12 participants, 2 trainings in Basic Cyber Safety awareness and Child online protection); Kiribati (more than 500 participants joined the awareness raising and skills development sessions in Leadership, ICT Career development, Talk Tech, Cybersecurity and Online Safety. These programmes were championed and supported by governments, UN country teams, regional organizations, civil society and academia. In addition, there were also celebrations in Papua New Guinea and Samoa. Drawing upon the success of 2023, there has been continued interests form partners to strengthen the programme further in 2024.

In this background, Pacific Girls in ICT Day 2024 programme launch event is planned during the PITA AGM and Annual Business Forum and Expo that would be held between 29 April-2 May 2024 in Vanuatu.

Join the Celebration!

To register for the event click here.

A Zoom meeting invite, and details will be sent via email to all registered participants closer to the event date. For more information on how to use Zoom, please visit the Zoom website.  

When joining meeting, please use the ID in the following template “Yourname_Organization”

MC:

• Mr. Aamir Riaz, Programme Officer, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Opening remarks

• Ms. Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
• Mr. Phillip Henderson, President, Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA)
• Mr. Brian Moon, CEO, Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)
• Ms. Cherol Ala Ianna, Director General, Ministry of Prime Minister, Vanuatu

Special address

• Mr. Dirk Wagener, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu (in person)
• Mr. Jaap van Hierden, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati (recorded video message)
• Mr. Themba Kalua, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa, Cook Islands, Nieu, Tokelau (online)
• Mr. Richard Howard, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea (online)

Keynote Speech of the Girls in ICT Pacific 2024

• Mr. Andrew Irwin, Assistant Secretary, Online Safety Branch, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA), Australia (online)

(Each speaker to have 3 minutes maximum to deliver the remarks)

The session will include a panel discussion led by on what has inspired current female leaders in the Pacific to build a career in digitalization? What is their message to the new generation? what are the commitments that needs to be made? and what do the girls and young women expect to realize their aspirations. Furthermore, the panel will engage with girls and young women as aspiring youth moderator to share their aspirations in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. In addition to these critical perspectives, the panel will actively engage the participation of youth with disabilities to ensure their voices and experiences are heard and integrated into the conversation.

This panel discussion will welcome current female leaders in the Pacific and give them the opportunity to share their professional and personal experience on how to build a career in the digital economy, what commitments they had to make, and what inspiring messages and advice they have for the new generation. The female leaders will engage with attending aspiring girls and young women, who will in their turn share their aspirations in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. The panel will actively engage the participation of youth with disabilities to ensure their voices and experiences are heard and integrated into the conversation.

Panel discussion led by an aspiring youth moderator:

• Ms. Margaret Taebo, Student, Kiribati
• Ms. Adriana Marpena, Graduated student, University of Technology Papua New Guinea

Speakers:

• Ms. Tenanoia Simona, CEO, Telecom Tuvalu
• Ms. Selu Kauvaka, Founder of Tonga Women in ICT
• Ms. Emily Newman, NJFX and PTC
• Ms. Ketia Toakarawa, Pacific Disability Forum, Youth Committee Representative, Te Toa Matoa Youth Committee Board in Kiribati, a member of the Kiribati Deaf Association, teacher
• Ms. Jacqueline Tantapua, ICT Inspector Spectrum (Engineer), NICTA, Papua New Guinea (online)

This session will invite countries, UN agencies and partners to share their programmes and commitments towards Pacific Girls in ICT Day 2024.

Moderator:

• Ms. Jeanette Whyte, Head of Public Policy, GSMA

Speakers:

• Ms. Tienimatang Reue, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications, and Transport, Kiribati (online)
• Mr. Stan Ahio, Acting Director for Communications and Chief Engineer, Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC), Tonga
• Ms. Delphine Serumaga, UN Women Representative Pacific MCO, UN Women (online)
• Ms. Doreen Florence Leona, Mr. Rodney Philemon, Mr. Andrew Molivurae, SMART Sistas, Vanuatu
• Representative from UN Women

(Each speaker to have 3 minutes maximum)

• Ms. Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
• Mr. Phillip Henderson, President, Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA)
• Mr. Brian Moon, CEO, Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)