Loni Howe - ICT Coordinator
Thursday, April 26, 2018
The Ministry of Communications, Works, Energy and Labour (MCWEL) will be hosting a one-day ICT workshop for grade 5 girls in the four Primary Schools.
The workshop will be held on Monday, April 30 as part of activities to recognise ‘Girls In ICT Day’. ‘International Girls In ICT Day’ is being observed today (Thursday April 26) under the theme ‘Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes’.
The MCWEL said the workshop will engage girls in a fun and interactive manner to ensure that they gain more skills in the use of technology and are also exposed to information on the types of career possibilities that exist with ICTs.
ICT Coordinator at the MCWEL, Loni Howe explained that the sessions will be held, “to highlight and educate girls on the various professions in the field of ICT in a fun and exciting way, so that it can be attractive to them.” She also noted that the session will “showcase how ICTs can be used and teach girls how to use ICT to do various tasks.”
During the session, the participants will produce a packaged video to be shown in schools and on social media platforms. The ‘Government Information Unit Montserrat’ Facebook page will be used as the Facebook platform for the participants to continuously post their work while the session is being held.
Ms. Howe noted that it is important for our young girls to understand and embrace ICT’s and appreciate how they are used in the working world. She said, “International Girls in ICT Day is not just a global effort to help bridge the digital divide but also an opportunity to encourage young girls to pursue careers in the ICT field. It is imperative that girls and young women have the same opportunities that are afforded to young men in any field they so rightly desire, and thus the exposure to the ICT field which has predominantly been male dominated, is very critical.”
She also mentioned that skills gained in ICTs can lead to self-employment which is essential in addressing the unemployment issues in the Caribbean region, as a whole.
The one-day ICT workshop was originally scheduled for today to commemorate ‘International Girls in ICT Day’ but had to be rescheduled due to the Budget Debate.
