NiWIIT President’s Address at the 2014 Girls in ICT Day

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF NIWIIT AT THE INTERNATIONAL GIRLS IN ICT DAY 2014 AT ROCHAS FOUNDATION CONVENTION CENTRE, OWERRI – 27TH MAY 2014.

I welcome you all to this maiden edition of the International Girls in ICT Day 2014. We could not observe the day on the 24th April 2014 with other nations because secondary schools in Nigeria were on Easter holiday at the time. However, I am glad we are still able to observe the day today.

Participants with NiWIIT officials at the International Girls in ICT Day 2014 in Owerri Imo State on 27th May 2014.

As an interest group in the Nigeria Computer Society, NIWIIT provides a voice for both professional and non-professional females in the IT industry as she embarks on advocacy for them. As a gender-based Interest Group, we seek to educate women on the several ways IT can be beneficial to them and how they can take advantage of the IT resources available to them. Therefore, the seminars we are going to have today will address some very basic IT-uses that everyone can benefit from.

Dr(Mrs) Adeola Ilechukwu (NiWIIT) President, right) and Mrs Ronke Bello (NiWIIT) Vice-President, left) with the winners of the competition

One of the objectives of NIWIIT is to reach out to special target groups such as students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions in a bid to “catch them young.” With the project “Catching them Young” we will be facilitating the increase in the number of girls and women in the fields of technology and IT in particular.

It has been observed globally that the number of school girls opting to study technology-related disciplines is on the decline in most countries worldwide, thus International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is committed to championing the catalytic role a tech career can play in creating exciting, far-reaching opportunities for women and girls.

It is for this reason that the International Girls’ in ICT Day has been instituted to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICT). The initiative is committed to celebrate and commemorate the International Girls in ICT on the fourth Thursday of every April as established by the ITU membership.

Like other member states of ITU, the Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NiWIIT) thought it very important to set apart today for this event. It is not usual to have events such as this in the South-East Region, so this decision to have the maiden edition of International Girls’ in ICT day in Imo State signals a bright future for our girls in this part of the country in the IT industry.

Dr.(Mrs) Adeola Ilechukwu, NiWIIT President, congratulating the overall winner of the competition, Jane Chinonye Ogbonnaya, SS2 student of Spring of life International School, Enugu

I hereby invite you to relax and enjoy your day. During the interactive session you will be given the opportunity to ask questions that have been bothering your mind, and I assure you that there are a good number of IT professionals here today that will answer those questions with professional expertise.

Once again, I welcome every one that has taken out time to be a part of this special event today.

Thanks for coming and God bless you all.

Dr.(Mrs) Adeola Ilechukwu, FNCS, MCPN
National President