Three major organizations have joined forces to raise awareness regarding careers and studies in technology for women by hosting the first International Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) day in The Bahamas under the theme “Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes.”
Cable Bahamas Limited, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), and the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) have collaborated with the goal in mind to “promote tech careers and studies to a new generation of girls and young women” with a one day “Girls in ICT Forum and mini-career fair” set for Thursday, April 23.
“We are delighted to be the first to host such an inaugural event and to come together as women despite our corporate affiliations. We are the models for these young girls and we want to spark a different way of thinking when choosing a career path and show them the many opportunities available and what is achievable and can be created in through ICT,” said Corporate and Consumer Relations Manager Mavis Johnson-Collie.
“ICT’s are improving the lives of people everywhere, through better healthcare, better education, better communication and better governance,” Associate Counsel at Cable Bahamas Ltd. Nicole Watkins said.
Ms. Watkins expressed that Cable Bahamas values and encourages the contributions made in this sector and believes that events such as the forum can “plant seeds of dreams and creativity that will blossom in the future
Thursday’s forum will give details as to the qualifications necessary to successfully enter the sector.
Preliminary events include a two and a half hour television show, “Women Tech Talk,” that will highlight Bahamian women who have been recognized as trailblazers in various ICT sub-sectors. The show can be viewed on Monday April 20 on channels 11, 12, and 14.
“We look forward to the day when we can boast of having female line technicians, software engineers, technical installers, web and app developers and a host of other non-traditional disciplines pursued by women as part of our team,” Ms. Watkins said.
Vice-President of Legal Affairs at BTC Pauline Seymour said there are so many opportunities in communications and technology, and it is their agencies’ task to help the public to see what those opportunities are and they are starting deliberately with the girls.
“We are joining a worldwide effort started by the United Nations, and it is also a very personal thing for all of us, because we are all women coming into an industry that has traditionally been male led and an industry where some women have forged paths that we have been able to follow. So we in turn want to mentor and help others become a part of this industry,” Ms. Seymour said.
To date, ICT day has been celebrated in more than 140,000 countries since 2010.
