W.TEC Partners With United Nations in FCT to Mark Mark 2023 Intl Girls in ICT Day
On the 9th of May, W.TEC partnered with UNIC United Nations in & Tek Experts Nigeria, to mark the 2023 International Girls in ICT Day at the UN House, Abuja.
The event was organized to inspire, encourage & empower girls to pursue a future in ICTs, by ensuring they have the needed skills & support to achieve their goals.
The welcoming address was given on behalf of the Director UNIC by the National Coordinator of UNIC: in his remarks, he asked the female participants questions about ICT fields and the gender perceived to populate such fields, to which the girl’s echoed male in many of the ICT instances. He admonished that such was a wrong societal construct that must be corrected, and honed on the fact that women and girls have the capacity to perform even better than male counterparts in the field of science.
Remarks were taken from the representative of FCT Secondary Education Board, Mary and by the Country Director Tek Experts Mr. Gbolahan Olusanya. They both briefly emphasized the importance of having girls in participate actively in ICT. Mr. Gbolahan also expressed Tek Experts commitment in bridging the female digital divide by having a policy that empowers and support female candidates to apply and pursue a long career with Tek Expert.
Keynote address was delivered by Kemisola Bolarinwa, CEO NextWear Tech Hub. An important highlight of her note was the findings of the research conducted in Abuja about why 86 percent of girls fail JAMB. The findings showed that an absence of basic computer knowledge for many girls in rural community was their bane in the exam as they found it hard to comprehend usage of the computer. She queried why JAMB insist on having a CBT when there exists a wide knowledge gap amongst females in basic computer usage. In closing, she encouraged the participants not to relent in learning and being in ICT and other science related fields, and called on the representative of the school board to convey the message to authorities so a more wholistic solution can be arrived at and pledged her resolved to ensuring actions are taken.
Testimonials by participants of MakeHer Space: – Two girls from the MakeHer Space Faith Maigoro and Regina Oluchukwu Umenduka shared their experience in the MHS and explained how they are able to build tech that solves common day to day life challenges. They explained how they learned and are able to build a power bank device.
- Panel Discussion: Panelist – Bolade Adeoye (UNICEF), Nina Kastiro – IT UN House, Hanior Ngusurun – Operations manager Tek Experts. The Panel session was moderated by Folashade Braimoh, Senior Programme Manager, Partnership, W.TEC
The panelists shared their career journey, challenges and tips to succeed as woman in tech with the girls. The panel session was a well informative one which brought a lot mind blowing opportunities and ideas to the girls about STEM. The girls thereafter, had the opportunity to ask questions from the panelists.