The theme for this year’s event was "Digital Skills for Life". The event seeks to raise awareness on the critical role Gender Equality plays in the overall socio-economic development of our beloved country, ending violence and discrimination against women and Girls and making sure we have opportunities in all areas of life.
Amadou Sowe a representative from PURA, highlighted the importance of the day, reminding that in today’s global and digital world, a staggering 2.7 billion people are offline.Many of them live in developing and least developed countries and most of those who lack access to digital technology are women and Girls.
“However, to participate in modern society where more services are digitalised and distributed through the internet, Digitals skills are very relevant. The theme of this forum "Digital skills for life" is not only about WhatsApp, Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook or twitter but calls for collective actions and shared responsibilities to empower young girls and women to study STEM fields, developed digital skills and pursue carriers in ICT." he stated.
The national broadband penetration rate, he observed, continues to increase and mobile usage penetration rate is at 115%.
He noticed that the rates of internet use are higher to those with more education therefore, the Gambia’s digital future depends on putting right policies in place making ICT available to all.
"During the COVID 19 pandemic information and communication technology have been invaluable, it highlighted the importance of technology as a solution to stay connected and keep vital services and businesses going regardless of a given situation".
Lamin Camara, permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy (MOCDE), said the initiative is championed by IT members states under the IT resolution 70 in Guadalajara 2010 in Mexico.
"In April 2016, about 150 thousand students from different high schools and tertiary institutions participated in the girls ICT workshop and in 2017 a week summer camp was organised at Armitage Senior Secondary School targeting 30 students from various regions which was all geared towards empowering young girls to pursue studies".
Seihou A. Sanyang a representative from the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare, dwelled on the crucial role gender equality plays in the overall social economic development of our beloved country the Gambia, thereby ending violence, indiscrimination against women and girls.
"The government has embarked on empowering the Gambian woman to realize her full potentials and critical enabler labeled number two in 2018, 2021 national development plan which has been recovery focused one and also gone further to put in place numerous strategies and interventions geared towards the attainment of targets and results agreed both nationally and Internationally".
Awards were presented to most prominent phenomenal women, who played a crucial role and have significantly impacted in the ICT sector namely; Maram Biran Dounde Co-founder and CCE of a Techhub, Isatou Secka Jah, Chief Information Technology Officer of Qcell Limited, Khadija Aja Tambejang, Global Communication Expert, Madam Ida Mboob, Senior Digital Development Specialist and Adam Njie, a computer science graduating student emerging as overall best graduating student. Certificates were also presented to Wistem, GamChiks and Tech for all Gambia.
