Rwanda’s First Lady, Mrs Jeannette Kagame, has recently encouraged the country’s young women to aim higher, especially by advancing imaginative solutions in the field of ICT.
The First Lady who spoke at the third edition of the annual Ms Geek 2016 Awards ceremony in Kigali, said “these young women learned to use the different resources made available for them to grow, and are now inspiring more girls at the international level.
“It is this attitude of turning a challenge into an opportunity to create something new, and culturally relevant, that we must continue to nurture.”
Five out of 130 Girls in ICT were awarded for innovative projects providing solutions to the community’s challenges – ranging from health, agriculture, urbanisation necessities, to employment at the ceremony.
According to the First Lady, the pace at which the world is evolving “does not allow us to slow down our own development,” whether it relates to our education, health, agriculture, economy, or even our political systems. We must therefore keep up with this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, which undeniably reduces distances between people, and gives a new meaning to the concept of a ‘global village’.”
She also called on participants to rally behind positive policies pushing for more girls and women inclusion in the field of ICT, such as the HeforShe Campaign, which is supported by President Paul Kagame, and aims at bridging ‘the gender digital divide, and parity in ICT access, usage, and innovation’, within five years.
The First Lady given the ‘Outstanding Leader Award’ for her dedication and commitment to girl education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The award for ‘Global Promotion of Girls in ICT’ was given on this same day to the former Secretary General of International Communication Union (ITU), Dr Hamadoun Touré (in absentia), who was recognized for his efforts in the empowerment of women and advancement of young girls in the ICT fields.
