In observance of Girls in ICT Day…NFMU launches Facebook hashtag competition

Apr 11, 2017 News

In observance of Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) day slated for April 28, the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) has launched a Facebook hashtag and win competition.

Girls in ICT Guyana Facebook page photo

The competition which was created to empower girls and young women to overcome the stereotypes in the field was launched last Friday during which head of the NFMU, Valimiki Singh, said that he is hopeful the forum will see greater participation of women in the technology sector.
This, Singh said, will bring them closer to problem-solving, innovative ideas and creating opportunities for them within the market.
He said, “Given the investments that have been made and the investments committed to the ICT sector both by the government of Guyana and the private sector. We believe that ICT’s will become a major contributor to Guyana’s development.”
He added that it is an ideal opportunity for more females to get involved and bring their creativity, innovation and approach to problem solving in the ICT sector. Singh also referenced the Guyana Girls Can Code (G2C2) a coding and programming initiative.
“These Apps are the oxygen of the devices that most of us use. There is a great and growing demand for mobile and other applications for these devices. This is just one small aspect of the opportunities available to the ICT sector.”
The NFMU head pointed out that the more people who can code and programme in Guyana will increase opportunities for them to write and create these programmes not only for Guyana but also on the global market.
“There are billions of these devices. We have seen a couple of companies start up in Guyana that have actually entered this area and the potential is tremendous.”
Meanwhile, Mellisa Layne, Spectrum Engineer at NFMU, disclosed that she faces challenges in the field because the gap between men and women in ICT is increasing.
“That is why it is on us as persons with the ability to make a change to go out there and do something. For the past five years, the NFMU and several public and private sector partners have taken this initiative from being a simple one day camp to being an entire month of activities.”
Essays of 150 words are required for submission in the hashtag competition.
It must be tagged with #girlsinictguyana and #equals and uploaded to the Girls in ICT Guyana Facebook page. Prizes will be awarded for the three posts with the most likes.
An 11-inch Lenovo tablet compliments of Vishnu Panday and Associates will be given out as the first prize; an eight-inch Asus tablet compliments of E Networks Inc as the second prize; and a computer course package as the third prize.
Voting ends on April 27. The winners will be announced the following day at the Girls in ICT event to be held at the Umana Yana.
Launched by the International Telecommunication Unit (ITU) in 2010, the day is part of an international drive to encourage more females to study STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
It aims to counter the decline in the number of female ICT students, which is in turn contributing to a predicted global shortfall of at least two million ICT jobs which will not be easily filled.

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