ITU, W.TEC Celebrate Girls in ICT, Push for More Women Representation

Emma Okonji

In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the International Girls in ICT Day, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Women Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) in Nigeria have called for more representation of women and girls in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

Speaking at this year’s International Girls in ICT Day celebration, Themed: ‘AI for Development-Girls Shaping the Digital Future’, organised by W.TEC in partnership with Oracle, which held at the Lagos City College, Sabo, Yaba, Nigeria, the ITU Secretary General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, stressed the need for more girls representation in STEM education, to enable them compete favourably with their male counterparts.

Bogdan-Martin, who was represented by a senior official from the United Nations Information Centre in Abuja, Mrs. Bolanle Olumekor, said women representation in STEM Education and Quantum information technologies that are poised to reach high possibilities, remained low globally.

“Women represent just 35 per cent of STEM graduates globally and across the AI workforce. These are signals that we need to correct and we need to bring now because AI systems reflect the experiences, perspectives, and priorities of the whole people. And if we are only drawing on half of humanity’s creativity, ingenuity, and talent to shape these technologies, we are leaving the other half of our potential on the table. And that’s why this year’s theme, AI for Development-Girls Shaping the Digital Future, matters so much. It speaks to our aspiration and it’s a call to action. To the girls, you belong in this space, and your ideas and your leadership are needed. And to the policy makers, educators, and industry leaders, the choices you make this year on access, on education, on mentorship, will determine whether AI works for all or just some. At the ITU, we are committed to making sure technology works for everyone,” Bogdan-Martin said in her speech read by Olumekor.

Addressing selected female students from various schools in Lagos, Oracle representative, Bekere Amasoma, spoke about technology education and how girls could leverage technology to build their careers.

She educated the students on Data Centre Curriculum and Artificial Intelligence (AI). She advised the students to take technology and STEM education with all seriousness, while citing gender gap in the technology space.

Representative from the Lagos Education District 4, Mr. Lateef Olarenwaju, also advised the female students to concentrate on their studies and to leverage technology in a profitable way. He however pleaded with the W-TEC to also consider the boy-education and ensure boys were also beneficiaries of W.TEC programmes.

The Founder/Executive Director of W.TEC, Mrs. Oreoluwa Lesi, said the International Girls in ICT Day was set aside by the ITU to celebrate and raise awareness of technology for girls in order to bridge the gender gap in technology.

“The celebration is to show the intersection of technology in all aspects of life. Technology intersects with mental health, with education, with finance and in all aspects of life, including security. So we wanted the girls to start thinking about how technology impacts all these areas of life, how they can use technology and more importantly that they can be creators of technology,” Lesi said.

Member, Advisory Board of W.TEC, Mrs. Olufunmi Shonde, who spoke on the impact of the initiative, said: “W.TEC has several programmes for the girl education, including the annual International Girls in ICT Day celebration that have impacted so much on female education in Nigeria.

At the International Girls in ICT Day celebration, the girls were also taught the various forms of Extended Reality (ER) such as Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Practical knowledge on Robotics was also carried out.

Highlight of the celebration was the pitch from six different schools about Online Safety, Cybersecurity, and Physical Safety.

At the end of the pitch, Gbaja Girls High School, Lagos, emerged first position, Lagos City College emerged second position, while Lagos Anglican Girls School emerged third position. Trophies were given to first, second and third winners, while others received consolation prizes.