Girls in ICT Day Pacific – Moving forward

International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated worldwide every year on the fourth Thursday of April (27 April 2023). Girls in ICT (GICT) Day programme 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.

Girls in ICT works to cultivate the presence and digital skills of young women and girls [aged 12-24] in the career field of STEM, particularly ICTs. Given the success of this initiative, ITU continues to promote Girls in ICT not solely on one day of the year, but throughout the year with 2023 marking a launching point for a new model of Girls in ICT year-long activities. Girls in ICT activities in 2023 is based on the theme of “Digital Skills for Life!”. According to ITU’s latest data, the proportion of women using the Internet globally amounts to 63 per cent, compared to 69 per cent of men. If women are unable to access the internet and feel unsafe online, they are unable to develop digital skills and participate in digital spaces, diminishing their opportunities to pursue a career in STEM fields.

Drawing upon the success of developing national and regional programmes for Girls in ICT, the Pacific Girls in ICT Day Programme was lanched on 27^th April 2023 together with national government, UN agencies, Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC). The programme aims to encourage girls and young woman to pursue studying STEM, enhance their level of digital skill, and raise awareness on meaningful and safe use of ICT.

In order to share experiences from the programme in 2023, enhance partnerships going forward and invite commitments to further strengthen the programme, a final event is being organized on 20^th October 2023 in Suva, Fiji back-to-back with PITA Strategy Forum.

When & Where:

20 October 2023 in hybrid mode, on-site at Holiday Inn Suva, Fiji and online on Zoom platform

Registration

You can register for this event by completing this online form.

Targeted Participants:

Honourable guests from UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, Government Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Commissions, teachers, students, girls and young women in the Pacific

Provisional Agenda

08:30-09:00 (GMT+12): Registration and event preparation on-site

Testing and online networking on the online platform

09:00 – 09:50 (GMT+12): Introduction

MC:

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

Opening remarks

Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Phillip Henderson, Vice President, Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA)
Brian Moon, CEO, Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)
E. Mr. Maciu Nalumisa, Minister, Ministry of Housing and Local Government and Acting Minister for Trade, Co-operatives, and Small and Medium Entreprises, and Communications, Fiji

Special address

Dirk Wagener, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
Jaap van Hierden, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati
Themba Kalua, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa, Cook Islands, Nieu, Tokelau
Richard Howard, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea

Keynote Speech of the Girls in ICT Pacific 2023:

Pauline Ross, A/g Assistant Secretary, Online Safety, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Government of Australia

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

09:50 – 10:00(GMT+12): Group photos

10:00 – 10:30 (GMT+12): Girls in ICT Sharing Moment: “Digital skills for life!”

Session moderator:

Olly No’oroa Daugunu, ITU Generation Connect Asia and the Pacific Youth Envoy from Fiji

This session will bring selected participants (Girl representatives) to share their experiences and lessons learnt from the Girls in ICT Day Pacific 2023. They will also share their aspirations for future engagements in ICTs, especially in creating an accessible and safe digital environment and society for girls and women in Fiji, Tonga, FSM, Nauru, and Kiribati.

Speakers:

Nilishika Sania Prasad, Vunimono High School, Fiji
Mele Tavake, Tupou Institute, Tonga
Noelani David Holomoana Pine, Kiribati
Madlima Leben, Senior Student, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School, FSM (tbc)
Girl representative from Nauru (TBC)

(Each speaker to have 3 minutes maximum)

10:30–10:50 (GMT+12): Panel discussion on Experiences and Moving Forward

Moderator:

Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (TBC)

Speakers:

Faye Lois, Head of Customer Experience, Telecom Fiji Ltd
Selu Kauvaka, Founder & CEO, Tonga Women in ICT (TWICT)
Renga Teannaki, Senior ICT Policy Analyst, Ministry of Information, Communications and Transport Kiribati
Representative from Republic of Nauru (tbc)

(Each speaker to have 3 minutes maximum)

10:50-10:55 (GMT+12): Word Cloud Question:

Session moderator:

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

Moderator invites participants to share one key takeaway word from the Girls in ICT Day Pacific celebration 2023

Moderator reads out the words for cloud on “In one word, how would you describe series of activities delivered in last a few months as part of the Girls in ICT Day Pacific 2023?”

To participate please join the slido word cloud poll here or please vote at slido.com using code #20Oct2023

10:55-11:05 (GMT+12): Closing