NITDA Boss Backs eBusiness Life’s ICT Girls Day Campaign, Wants Gender Divide Bridged

Prof. Cleopas Angaye, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called on all stakeholders to support the move to ensure that girls are properly drafted into the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) profession in Nigeria. The NITDA boss was speaking in the light of the upcoming International Girls In ICT Day event being organised by eBusiness Life Communications Limited on April 26, 2012 in Lagos. According to Prof. Angaye, although the gender inequality is a global issue, Nigeria’s case is even more pronounced because even in other areas such as IT utilisation, the gap is very wide. “The divide is such that we have to consciously work to ensure that we narrow the gap. So I believe it’s a worthwhile effort to contribute to both physically and financially to ensure that our females are properly catered for in the digital era,” he charged. He promised to be part of the event which has as its theme, “Why Leave ICT to boys, Girls can do ICT too”, which he believes would make a change in the annals of ICT development in Nigeria. The NITDA DG is one of many dignitaries expected to grace the first International Girls in ICT Day celebration to be held in Nigeria. Others include Mrs. Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Florence Seriki, CEO of Omatek Computers, among others. The event will be chaired by Mrs Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One Cable Company Limited. Mrs Johnson had earlier underlined the importance of the event, stating: “Girls in ICT Day should be marked until seeing girls in ICT is not a novelty or an anomaly” The one-day event which is meant to sensitize young girl and all stakeholders involved in moulding their careers path, on the need to take up ICT as a profession, is part of an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative. International Girls’ Day is an initiative launched through ITU Resolution 70 with the idea of creating a global environment that will empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in the field of information and communication technologies. The Union declared the 4th (fourth) Thursday of April every year as a day of encouragement to girls and young women to consider careers in ICT and society is reminded to support them in their choice. Pilot projects and campaigns have been launched in a number of countries for about 20 years, with the aim to change girls' and young women's behaviour patterns with regard to their choice of career and to expand their spectrum of career options. The one-day event, which kick-starts the campaign, is geared at promoting the above agenda. This will be followed by series of activities which will expose young girls to the viability of career in ICT. According to Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro, CEO of eBusiness Life Communication, the need to sensitise young girls is premised on the fact that the society has unconsciously relegated the female gender and delegated careers in technical fields, especially in ICT, to their male counterparts. According to her, effort should be made to introduce young girls to career opportunities in technical fields in both the public and private sectors to help them have a wide range of options and contribute their quota in the industry. She stated that the ICT Girls’ Day workshop and subsequent campaign will further open up opportunities for girls in ICT sector. As part of the 2012 event, there will be quiz/debate competition between female students from select secondary schools, roundtable discussion, interactive and motivational talk from renowned women ICT professionals, among others. The event will also include parents as they are a part of the future moulders for young girls. Furthermore on the campaign which , activities such as sustained mentorship programmes, tours to ICT facilities, participation in seminars that promote ICT development, competitions on various ICT topics, and more will be organized to further sensitize and educate young girls on the career path. e-Business Life Magazine is a monthly Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Magazine incorporated to bring better information that would link users and service providers as well as enable Nigeria take its pride of place among the comity of nations in the new global economy. The mission at e-Business Life Magazine is to inform and educate ICT users on trends and developments both locally and internationally; to provide a platform on which to build ICTs in a Nigeria and also to be a voice for ICT consumers in the country. In addition we are poised to create a world where Nigerian youths have a better understanding of modern technologies and can easily deploy these technologies in developing their communities.