ITU Telecom World Young Innovators Competition winner, Victoria Alonso Pérez, met with our Development Bureau Director, Brahima Sanou, in Uruguay, during his visit to Latin America. Victoria attended various high-level meetings, culminating in an offer from Antel to work with her on the CHIPSAFER project.
Job opportunities in the ICT continue to grow, and many countries and regions are predicting a shortage of qualified staff with math, science, engineering and computing skills to meet the growing demand. At the same time, many companies are looking to increase the numbers of women in the sector. This means that highly qualified women in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them. Unfortunately teenage girls and young women often never even consider a career in ICTs. There is a lack of awareness among students, teachers and parents on the opportunities presented by a career in ICT.
Attitudes can change when girls are invited into companies and government agencies to meet ICT professionals and see what life is like on the job. For this reason, ITU members agreed to recognize Girls in ICT Days on the 4th Thursday of every April in ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 (Guadalajara, 2010). ITU is also helping girls find the information they need by developing a Girls in ICT Portal with links to scholarships, training, internships, contests and awards, tech camps, on-line networks and, of course, Girls in ICT Day activities. The Girls in ICT Portal will be unveiled in this Session.
Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU-BDT) 