Opening And Launching Ceremony of Girls in ICT Day Pacific 2023

International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated worldwide every year on the fourth Thursday of April (27 April 2023). Girls in ICT Day provides an opportunity for girls and young women to see and be exposed to the benefit of ICT in enabling their career and aspiration. 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.

The 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 each year, ITU will continue the efforts 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 will follow the 2023 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.

In the Pacific region, the Girls in ICT Day initiative 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.

The celebration is organized by the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA), and ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in conjunction with a series of the training programme online via Zoom platform.

The Opening Ceremony was held on 27 April 2023 virtually.

Highlights of the Opening Ceremony

Provisional Agenda:

08:00-08:55: Registration

Registration and event preparation on-site
Testing and online networking on the online platform

09:00 – 10:00: Introduction

MC:

Ms. Betty Mapuola, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and Transport, Kiribati

Welcoming remarks

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

Special address

Mr. Sanaka Samarasinha, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
Mr. Jaap Van Hierden, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati
Ms. Simona Marinescu, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Samoa, Cook Islands, Nieu, Tokelau
Mr. Richard Howard, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea

Keynote speech

Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunications Development Bureau, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Keynote Speech and official launching of the Girls in ICT Pacific 2023

Ms. Bridget Gannon, Assistant Secretary, Online Safety Branch, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Government of Australia
Honourable Mr. Manoa Kamikamica, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Communications, Fiji
Ms Aoniba Riare, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Transport, Kiribati
Ms. Nadia Ika, Director of ICT Administration, Department of Information, Communications and Technology, Ministry for Telecommunications, Nauru
Mr. Paula Pouvalu Ma’u, Chief Secretary & Secretary to Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office, Tonga
Ms. Winifred Kula BSCS, MBus, President & Co Founder, Papua New Guinea Digital ICT Cluster

(Each speaker to have 5 minutes maximum to deliver the remarks)

10:00 – 10:05: Group photos

10:05 – 10:35: Talking tech – Girls and Women in ICT on “Digital Skills for life”

Interactive interview/conversation between a girl or young woman (Representative from youth leader of Generation Connect Asia and the Pacific) and the Girls in ICT Day Pacific Partners to share experiences about this year’s Girls in ICT 2023 theme on “Digital Skills for Life!”.

This session will be divided into two sections with participation of the Girls in ICT Day Pacific partners from the UN Agencies and members of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), discussing specific topics focusing on the “Digital Skills for Life!” moderated by the youth leader from the Pacific region.

10:35 – 11:05: Session 1: Talking tech with the UN agencies and intergovernmental organisations

(Virtual session)

Moderated by:

Ms. Olly No’aroa Daugunu, ITU Generation Connect Asia and the Pacific Youth Envoys from Fiji

Speakers:

Mr. Sandipan Paul, Education Specialist, UNICEF
Ms. Tenanoia Veronica Simona, CEO, Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation (TTC)
Mr. Johan Sebastiaan Berghoef, Director Information Services, Pacific Community

(Each speaker to have 3 min max. focusing on the information required to be shared)

11:05 – 11:35: Session 2: Talking tech with Members of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)