Girls in ICT 2022” Bootcamp: Winners Rewarded

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Girls in ICT 2022” Bootcamp: Winners Rewarded
Girls in ICT 2022” Bootcamp: Winners Rewarded

Africa-Press – Mauritius. The winners of “Girls in ICT 2022” who participated in a bootcamp organised by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation in collaboration with the National Computer Board were rewarded for their outstanding performance, this morning, during an award ceremony held at the Caudan Arts Centre, Port-Louis.

The winners are students from Pamplemousses State Secondary School, Queen Elizabeth College, Sookdeo Bissoondoyal State College, and Sodnac State Secondary School.

The Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation (ICT), Mr Deepak Balgobin, Mrs Kobita Jugnauth, the Chairman of the National Computer Board (NCB), Mr Dhurma Soburrun and other personalities were present.

In her address, Vice Prime Minister Dookun-Luchoomun congratulated the participants and their teachers for participating in the competition. The Girls in ICT Day, she underlined, is a reminder of the importance to bridge barriers and engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.

It is also a call for more active participation of a larger number of girls to enter STEM and ICT careers, she said. The access for girls in ICT and STEM, she highlighted, is now more crucial in the face of unprecedented situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

She indicated that according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the ICT sector is a male dominated global domain. She therefore, emphasised on the need to redress the situation and promote gender equality in ICT and STEM education.

She made an appeal to girls to harness the power of ICT and sustain the Mauritian society into a resilient one. Government is investing in STEM education and is offering all subjects to students irrespective of gender compared to the old traditional educational system, stated the Education Minister.

The Vice Prime Minister further spoke of Government’s vision, which is deeply rooted in promoting gender equality across all sectors as well as equity for all.

She underlined the orthodox way of bringing up boys and girls while stressing the necessity to eliminate gender disparity at all levels in society. She expressed confidence that young girls are the new agents of change who will undoubtedly contribute to the development of the nation.

For his part, Minister Balgobin said that the Girls in ICT Day was declared by the ITU in 2011 and is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of April.

The day aims to encourage and empower young girls and women to consider studies and careers in the fields of ICT, he added. He observed that the enrolment of girls for ICT subjects is lower compared to boys, hence the need for gender equality in these subjects.

It is in this endeavour, that the NCB organised the bootcamp during the easter holidays in the four educational zones across the island during which the girls were introduced to new emerging technologies, coding, robotics and 3Dprinting, he indicated.

The main objective, he said is to reinforce understanding among young women and empower them be at par or even better than boys in the field of technology and join the ICT and STEM studies and career paths.

Minister Balgobin highlighted several Governmental measures put in place to make technology more accessible to youngsters and in the public sector. They include digitalisation of Government services and implementation of high-speed connectivity in some 160 Secondary Schools amongst others.

He also underlined that the ICT sector has been growing at a rate of around 5 and 6.5% adding that more than 30 thousand persons are employed in the sector in Mauritius. He reiterated Government’s commitment to continue to support the sector and consolidate the local ICT ecosystem towards a smarter Mauritius.

Mrs Kobita Jugnauth congratulated the students for their dedication and hard work during the booth camp while underscoring that young girls have the potential to accelerate the pace of transforming Mauritius into a cyber island and a regional ICT hub.

The enriching experience of the booth camp, she underlined, will open new pathways for girls to access ICT and STEM education. She called for more determined actions so that girls opt for STEM education and wished the participants success in their career path.

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