Business Life Communication, the publisher of Nigeria’s monthly ICT magazine says it would partner with Vodacom Business Nigeria to train female students on basic robotics.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mrs Ufuoma Emuophedaro, made this known in a statement in Lagos yesterday.
She said that the training was part of activities to mark the International Girls in ICT Day, an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) geared to sensitise young girls to take up ICT as a career.
The International Girls Day in ICT day is celebrated on April 4, every year.
According to her, the society has unconsciously relegated the female gender and delegated careers in technical fields, especially in ICT to their male counterparts therefore the need to sensitise young girls.
“Effort needs to be made to introduce young girls to career opportunities in technical fields in both the public and private sectors.
“This will help them have a wider range of options and enable them to contribute their quota in the industry and in the development of the economy,” she said.
Emuophedaro said that eBusiness Life would organise the International Girls in ICT Day celebration to further open up opportunities for girls in the ICT sector.
“As part of the 2017 event, there will be students’ training in basic robotics and graphic design competition between female students from selected secondary schools.
“There will also be roundtable, interactive and motivational talks from renowned women ICT professionals, among others.
“The event will also form a platform for participating companies to network and find areas of complementarities.
“At the end of the event, it is expected that the young students should be able to introspect and pursue any desired career’s path in ICT, technical or not, without bias, or being gender conscious.”
She stressed that the motive of the campaign was not to force the girls into a profession currently dominated by men but to present and demystify the ICT profession.
According to her, the campaign also aims to make the young girls realise the need and intrigues of the profession.
Emuophedaro said that the campaign would also expose the girls to hidden abilities to tackle the challenges that were faced and surmounted by some women who were already excelling in and enjoying the profession.
The Marketing Manager of Vodacom Business Nigeria, Ms Anne Ihugba said that Vodacom’s support was borne out of the quest to ensure that the Nigerian girl child was presented with all options to shape her career.
Ihugba said that the support was also borne out of the need to ensure that the profession of ICT was demystified among females.