The ITU Resolution 70 call all Members States to celebrate and commemorate the International Girls in ICT Day on the fourth Thursday of April every year.

• Statement by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterrres​ on the International Girls in ICT Day 2020; April 23.

Girls in ICT Day is all about encouraging girls and young women to take up the exciting potential of a career in information and communications technology. It is also about urging governments, industry and academia to develop strategies to equip and support girls who want to embark on such a career.

The unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, much more effectively than any statement I could make, the vital importance of information and communications technology to society. With billions of people now confined to home, with businesses shuttered from New York to Nairobi, with health services strained to breaking point, digital networks are playing a crucial role in keeping the world working. They are keeping us connected, supporting health workers treating the sick, and enabling researchers who are collaborating to develop a vaccine.

Digital technologies will be the key to our success. Digital molecular analysis is helping teams understand the virus, so we can target its weak points. Digital epidemiological modelling is helping us understand the behaviour of the virus, to help us curb its spread. Yet, when women are excluded from such work, we replicate and deepen inequalities and gender stereotypes, we create products that don’t adequately address the needs of half the population, and we further the gender digital divide.

So, to today’s girls and young women, I say: digital solutions are going to be central to every major challenge facing your generation. The world cannot afford to lose your talent. What career choice could be more rewarding than mastering the digital skills that will help you to save our planet and its people?

UNSG

• ​​​Statement by the President of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande​​ on the International Girls in ICT Day 2020; April 23.

Our world today faces an unprecedented threat from COVID-19. The complexity of this global emergency has particularly shed a light on the importance of digital technology in maintaining our business continuity, as well as allowing us to connect with our personal and professional communities.

Now more than ever, the Girls in Information and Communication Technologies Day should serve as a call to action to inspire girls and young women to learn more about the amazing opportunities offered by ICTs.

Digital technology has proven to be a key driver of economic growth, social inclusion and sustainable development. Yet despite rapid progress, we know that there is a shortage of young people – and in particular, girls – studying in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Limited access to quality education, affordability, as well as inherent biases and cultural norms may prevent girls from entering such fields.

We need to step up the pace to foster stronger cooperation across stakeholders to remove barriers to girls and women’s full participation in the digital world.

As governments prepare for indefinite school closures, policy makers and practitioners can look to lessons from past crises to address the specific challenges faced by girls. Tangible actions are needed to protect progress made and create gender-responsive and context-specific educational environments that engage and inspire girls to pursue a career in ICT.

Especially in times like these, we must make sure that girls are provided with the right knowledge, skills and creative minds to secure their meaningful participation in the digital economy.

The world will get through this crisis, but only if we act together.

UNGA President.

• Statement by the ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao.

• Statement on Girls in ICT Day​ 2020, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development, ITU​.

The global celebration of Girls in ICT Day, when ITU and thousands of partners and supporters all around the world get together to promote the exciting career opportunities waiting for girls and young women in the tech sector, is one of the top events on my calendar every year.

But this year, we face an unprecedented challenge. The COVID-19 global health emergency has turned our world upside down. Limiting the spread of this highly infectious virus demands radical changes to the way we work, and interact with one another.

Major events all around the world are being cancelled or postponed. At ITU, we continue to be open for business, but in a different way. We'll still be commemorating Girls in ICT Day on 23 of April, but in a virtual format.

So this year, we strongly encourage you to focus your activities around social media outreach and virtual events, rather than live gatherings. Let's turn our constraints into an opportunity to really demonstrate the power of technology to change lives.

Let's get creative on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, with engaging messaging, images, videos and more.

And - where feasible - let's take advantage of video conferencing and collaboration platforms like Zoom, Skype, Jabber, Facetime, Houseparty and others to connect remotely for dialogues and debates on more effective strategies to bridge the digital gender divide, and get more girls into tech.

At ITU, we're working to transform our own on-site celebrations in Samoa into a fun and inspiring virtual event, in collaboration with the Samoan government. We'll be sharing details about how all stakeholders can join the excitement on our Girls in ICT portal in early April.

At the same time, we're working to finalize a new social media package, available for download from our website from Monday 30 March.

And of course, our Girls in ICT portal remains the central hub for sharing your activities with the Girls in ICT community right around the world. We'll still be mapping your (virtual) celebrations, so don't forget to tell us all about your unique way of adapting your Girls in ICT Day 2020 for maximum outreach and effect.

I wish you all an engaging, exciting and inspiring Girls in ICT Day 2020, and above all, stay healthy.

CAMPAIGNS: International Girls in ICT Day 2020. Get involved, Ideas for the celebration of the Day

FORUM:

• Empowering girls and women to consider studies and careers in the growing ICTs field.

• Mainstreaming a gender perspective in ITU and promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women through telecommunications/information and communication technologies.

The International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative backed by International Telecommunication Union - ITU state members in Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 (Rev. Busan, 2014) to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of Information and communication technologies.