International Girls in ICT Day (GICT) provides an opportunity for girls and young women to see and learn more about the benefits of ICTs 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.  Girls in ICT strives to equip   girls and young women [aged 12-24] with the necessary digital skills to pursue careers in the field of STEM, particularly ICTs. In 2024, the theme for GICT is “Leadership”, highlighting the importance of women role models in leadership positions, to inspire girls and young women as well as break down barriers that might hinder their professional growth.

The Girls in ICT Day Thailand celebration is organized by Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (Office of the NBTC), the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) and ITU Asia and the Pacific Regional Office in partnership with the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand (UNRCO in Thailand), Ministry of Education,  Office of the Basic Education Commission,  Asia Pacific Telecommunity, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Cisco, Code.org, Huawei, ZTE, SENKO, and Digital Council of Thailand from April to August 2024 in conjunction with a series of training programmes.

While the Girls in ICT Day India celebration is organised organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT),  the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and the Broadband India Forum (BIF), with support from the Ministry of Education India, India Mobile Congress (IMC), UN Country Team, and the National Institute of Communication Finance (NICF) in India from May to July 2024 in conjuction with a series of training programmes.

The rapid advancement of technology has brought both opportunities and challenges. The increasing amount of e-waste and the growing concern for child online protection highlight the need for awareness and education. This seminar aims to introduce participants to key issues related to e-waste and child online protection, and provide an onboarding session for the ITU Academy. This event is intended for high school and university students interested in ICT and digital safety.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is organising a Digital Skills Seminar on Online Safety, E-waste, and ITU Academy. Seminar aims to raise awareness on the topic of online safety, e-waste, and  digital skills training in various areas of ICT available in ITU Academy.

Objective:

In this one-day seminar, we aim to introduce participants to several areas of ICT, to help guide their studies and career choices. Specifically, we will:

• Discuss the challenges and opportunities related to e-waste.
• Support the promotion of online safety amongst children through ITU Child Online Protection initiative.
• Introduce the ITU Academy and its learning opportunities.

Targeted Participants:

The target participants are university students in Thailand and India who are interested in the ICT ecosystem, and are interested to explore ICT as a potential career path, especially in the areas mentioned in the concept note. This training will be conducted in English, hence, a good command of English (both spoken and written). While having a technical background can enhance the learning experience, it is not a prerequisite for participation in this seminar. Participants are encouraged to bring along their mobile phone/tablet/laptop to facilitate registration in ITU Academy.

Programme Agenda

Discuss the rapid growth of e-waste, its challenges, and economic opportunities through recycling.

Introduction to the training modules for policy-makers, parents, educators and new released training applications for children themselves

The session will also give an overview of the ITU COP for Asia and the Pacific Project which has conducted a series of impactful activities to strengthen child online protection in the Asia-Pacific region. By leveraging the achievements of this project, we aim to help girls and young people better understand the available resources on COP in the Asia-Pacific region.

Explore measures to protect children online and discuss the COP initiative by ITU.