International Girls in ICT Day 2017
International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated every year with the theme “Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes,” to encourage young women and girls to discover the exciting world of opportunities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In 2017, International Girls in ICT Day took place on 27 April.
Changing perceptions and attitudes is an important part of achieving gender equality in technology. International Girls in ICT Day aims to expand the realm of possibilities in the minds of young women, and also to engage men and boys on the topic of gender equality in the field of ICTs.
As we embark on the path to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ICTs are a key driver to empower women and girls, and UN organizations committed to enhancing the use of digital technologies to promote the empowerment of women. They are an enabling technology that can speed progress by opening up opportunities for education, job training and high-paying employment, improving women and girls’ access to health care, enabling the exercise of legal rights and participation in government, among many others.
On 27 April 2017, United Nations agencies introduced thousands of girls and women to careers in coding and robotics as part of the annual International Girls in ICT Day celebrations around the world. Since its inception in 2014, over 240,000 girls and young women have taken part in more than 7,200 celebrations of International Girls in ICT Day in 160 countries worldwide, according to ITU. In Bangkok, 100 female university students worked with ITU, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and private sector partners to boost their digital skills and strengthen their job profiles for perspective employers.
Learn more about activities in the UN Daily News issue of 27 April, UN Women's website, ITU's website, flyer and blog, as well as on social media Facebook and Twitter.
Photo: Women learning to code at a technology centre in Herat, western Afghanistan. Credits: UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya
