International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated worldwide every year on the fourth Thursday of April (22 April 2021). 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.
As a result of the COVID-19 situation, the reliance on ICT to support the ‘new norm’ have become evident and widespread. The ICT sector is a growing sector for education in both developed and developing countries. This means that qualified female students in technical fields around the world have significant opportunities available to them. These are excellent opportunities in particular for highly skilled girls and young women who are still a minority when it comes to STEM education and careers. Developing initiatives and activities to promote and encourage girls to take up study in STEM and ICT is hence a requirement.
However, as it is true in the rest of the world, gender gaps in participation in digital life persists. The ICT sector is a growing sector for education in both developed and developing countries. Still, highly skilled girls and young women who are a minority when it comes to Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) and ICT. While girls across the world tend to outperform boys in reading and writing skills, they continue to be under-represented amongst top performers in this sector. Closer to home, across all major Southeast Asian economies, females represent more than 50% of all university graduates, whose ratio of graduates is significantly lower than males for graduates of technology-related degrees. For Indonesia itself, they make up 59% of all graduates, but only 35% in technology degrees graduates, and even less, only 18% make it to senior management positions.
The Girls in ICT Day Indonesia 2021 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.
- enhance the digital literacy of girls and young woman, particularly in cyber safety and ICT technology.
- encourage girls and young women to utilise ICT meaningfully and strengthen the Girls in ICT day online community in Indonesia and Asia and the Pacific.
- explore partnerships with various government and UN agencies to continue the support to digital literacy after the event.
Agenda
7:40 – Meeting Setup
● Establishing the platforms and connections
● Liaison officers/contact persons of the high officials joining onboard
7:55 – Program Commencement
- Basic courtesy rules
8:00 – Opening: Mr. Syed Ismail Shah, ITU Jakarta
- Programme Highlights
- Introduction of Speakers
08:05 – Opening remarks: Ms. Valerie Julliand, the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) for the Republic of Indonesia
- What the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in Indonesia has to offer in Girls in ICT?
08:15 – Welcoming remarks: Ms. Atsuko Okuda ITU Regional Director
- The 10 Year anniversary of GICT: the momentum to close the digital divide, and to open the gateway to ICT advancement for girls.
High Officials Celebratory Remarks:
08: 25: Hon. Mrs. I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, S.E, M.Si, Minister of Women and Children’s Protection Republic of Indonesia
- Renewing the spirit of the Hari Kartini National Civic Day for the advancement of girls and young women in ICT
08:30 – Mrs. Mira Thayyiba, Secretary General of Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Republic of Indonesia
- The prospect of ICT sector education and career for girls and young women of Indonesia
08:35 -Mr. Lilik Kurniawan, S.T.,M.Si., Deputy Chief of Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana Nasional (Disaster Preparedness), National Disaster Management Agency, Republic of Indonesia
- Girls and ICT as the driving seat: the National Disaster Preparedness Day
08:40 – Awarding of the winners: Girls in ICT as Creative Agents of Change in time of Pandemic and Disasters, CT Multimedia Content Competition for Indonesian girls and young women in the Global Girl in ICT 2021
08:48 – Closing: Mr. Syed Ismail Shah, Head of ITU Area Office in Jakarta
Join the celebration!
Please participate in this event via online zoom platform to join click here.
Zoom Meeting Details:
Topic: Girls in ICT Day Indonesia 2021
Time: Apr 22, 2021 08:00 Jakarta
Meeting ID: 973 5089 9818
Passcode: 188581