TD Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest technology and lifestyle distribution company, will be celebrating this year’s edition of the Girls in ICT Day by hosting 50 girls to a potentially life-changing experience.

The session holds on Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Partnering with TD Africa for the event is leading Original Equipment Manufacturer, IBM.

The 50 girls, selected from five schools, will be hosted at the Tech Experience Centre, Africa’s foremost technology and lifestyle hub, located at 13, Idowu Martins, Victoria Island, Lagos, another partner on the project. Also, the theme for TD Africa’s 2021 celebration of the girl child has been identified as: ‘Dear Girl, Reshape Your World’.

A number of activities have been lined up by the management of TD Africa for the participating school girls on the day. Top on the bill is the opportunity for some of the girls to be exposed to a cutting-edge digital skills training. All 50 participating girls will be required to write a quiz during the course of the event. From this, 10 girls will be selected for IBM’s Digital Skills Training Platform, “IBM Digital Nation Africa”.

Coordinating Managing Director, TD Africa, Mrs. Chioma Chimere, says the event further restates the company’s commitment to the girl child.

‘‘The future, as they say, is female. For us at TD Africa, we firmly believe that empowering the girl child and ensuring they get access to equal opportunities will go a long way in building a better society for all. Consequently, we have decided to bring back this CSR activity. Though the COVID-19 pandemic affected the physical hosting of the 2020 edition, we hosted a similar event in 2019 where many young school girls were inspired to embrace the STEM disciplines and pursue a career in technology which remains a male-dominated sector.

‘‘For this year’s edition, we hope to sponsor 10 exceptional girls to enroll for the IBM digital skills training programme which we believe will further expose and equip them to excel in their chosen careers in today’s technology-mediated world,’’ she enthused.

In 2019, TD Africa hosted 100 school girls at the Zone Tech Park, Gbagada, Lagos. In addition to learning from the experiences of invited resource persons, among whom were women who had risen to the top of their careers in the technology and other allied industries, laptops were also given out to 10 girls with exceptional academic performances. Some of the participants had expressed their delight at the wonderful opportunity the event provided in a feedback session which can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/OCvmred28mw

The International Girls in ICT Day is marked globally and annually on the fourth Thursday in April. It is an initiative by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States in Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 to generate a global environment that encourages girls and women to pursue careers in information and communication technologies (ICT), the world’s fastest growing sector.

TD Africa has remained in the forefront as a leading advocate of gender equality in Nigeria, with the company not only creating a conducive and competitive environment which allows female employees to thrive and aspire to its highest managerial positions; but also using the Girls in ICT Day celebration and other similar events to encourage and inspire the next generation of women leaders.

The event, which commences by 10am on Thursday, May 27, will be streamed live on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbKYkjI0IQ

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