Written by Ibrahim I Nassir. Head, Press and Public Relations Unit. 14/6/2022

The National Centre for Women Development, a National Centre of excellence for gender equity and sustainable women development in collaboration with NOBLETEENS Africa magazine opened an ICT skill camping for 100 Nigerian young girls. This camp is in commemoration of this year 2022 international day of Girls in ICT with the theme "ACCESS &SAFETY” The girls in ICT day is being observed annually by the international Telecommunication Union with the very essence of creating a global environment that will empower and encourage girls, most especially young women that will consider careers in the growing fields of ICT.

Declaring the camp open today at the ICT department in the Centre, the Director-General, NCWD, Hon Dr Asabe Vilita Bashir stated that the ICT sector needs more girls and women as the job of the future will be driven by technology and innovation as being projected that 65% of children entering primary schools today will have jobs that do not yet exist. Further, she said that girls who want to learn are stepping up to the plate to learn tech skills, therefore, developing the requisite capacities of girls/women through programmes like this will help to bridge the digital gap and provide an avenue for our country to fully utilize the potentials of Nigerian girls, women and youths.

The NCWD boss reiterated that this year’s programme stimulates the need for young people to exhibit responsible attitude online as we live in a day and age where young people need our help in understanding the complexities of interacting socially online and offline ranging from cyberbullying to sextortion with a hosts of evolving online issues that make parenting more difficult in this digital age.

She therefore, encourage parents to learn skills that will keep them abreast of their children’s online behaviours. According to her, “as an organization, we are prepared to offer assistance and provide relevant information to help parents feel less intimidated with technology and be able to explore safety rules in order to keep children safe online”, she asserted.

Noting that greater access to education through ICT can extend the reach and possibilities of formal and informal education, the DG believed that every day is Girls in ICT day as captured in the sustainable development agenda for 2030 as finalized and adopted in September 2015 which emphasised the importance of life long access to quality education for all.

Stating the importance of public-private partnership to the realization of the inclusive policies of government cannot be over-emphasised as it is a sure way to growth and development, Hon Dr Asabe Vilita Bashir thanked the NOBLETEENS Africa Magazine for their untiring effort in convening and organizing the GIRLS IN ICT CONNECT LIVE SEASON 6.

Earlier in her speech, the convener and the organizer of the season 6 episode, Princess Iphie, Publisher of Nobleteens Africa Magazine stated that this year’s camping aims to bridge the digital gap and to empower Nigerian girls through the use of ICT skills. She therefore, charge the girls to use the skill gained today to explore the diverse fields in S.T.E.M careers.

The high-light of the event was the group photographs with the DG (NCWD), participants and other representatives from CBN, EFCC, NCC and NDLEA.