​Girls in ICT​​​​ in the Philipp​​​ines ​

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The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) recently launched the Digital Innovation for Women Advancement (DIWA) program, which aims at increasing the involvement of Filipino women in ICT, harnessing the role of ICTs to advance gender equality, and empowering women to actively participate in building an inclusive and sustainable digital future. The Philippines, as a council member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), announced the DIWA project during the 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania, to be a model organization for gender equality using ICT to empower women.​

The Philippines is hosting the International Girls in ICT Day 2023 and, in collaboration with ITU, will expand the reach to ASEAN by advancing the following approaches :

​Partnership and collaboration for broader impacts – DICT and ITU will collaboratively implement the International Girls in ICT Day 2023 with the involvement of the various partners including the public sector, UN agencies and CSOs, the digital and AI industry, and the girls and young women themselves. Reaching out to ASEAN will be undertaken with the Ministry of Women and Empowerment and Child Protection, Republic of Indonesia.

Knowledge sharing and capacity development - A series of knowledge sharing sessions and capacity development will be organised in the area of digital literacy, essential ICT skills, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. Platforms both on-site and virtual will be organised to feature prominent female senior government officials, prominent business personalities, activists and pioneering practitioners in the digital technologies and AI. Some part of the activities will involve the actual enhancement of capacities both in terms of knowledge, skills, leadership, and networking.  

​Effective Dissemination of results - to maximize the benefit of this initiative, the output of each activity shall be shared and disseminated through various and creative means such as publication and/or other appropriate means. ​ 

​Expanding th​​e influence to the multi sectors in ASEAN​​​

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​The Indonesian ASEAN Chairmanship 2023 adopts the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth", implying the region's direction and determination to continue fostering ASEAN's relevance in responding to regional and global challenges, and strengthening ASEAN's position as the epicentre of regional economic growth, including through digital technology and transformation, for the prosperity of the people of ASEAN.

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights inaugurated a Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age, focusing specifically on digital gender equality for the first time. The ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework aims at putting women at the core of recovery efforts, and the first ever ASEAN Women Leaders Summit was held during the 37th ASEAN Summit. At the more practical sphere, the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 stipulates the need for national and regional collaboration to promote digital skills including for the workplace through the establishment of ASEAN Working Group on STEM education including formulation of curriculum objectives, preferred university courses such as software engineering, gender targets and etc.

The International Girls in ICT Day will be an avenue where prominent female actors, authorities and activists from different sectors are converging to share information, knowledge and contacts. The event shall also be expanding from the Philippines to ASEAN. Additionally, the Girls in ICT Day 2023 shall also bridge the digital generational gaps and thus provide the stage for the roles performance of female youth particularly amongst the Generation Connect in the Philippines and in ASEAN region.

In this regard, it becomes imperative that the International Girls in ICT Day in the Philippines is linked to ASEAN sectoral bodies' activities including those under the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of The Right Of The Women and The Children (ACWC). The International Girls in ICT Day celebration should build the momentum towards the deliberation of some key agenda in the ASEAN Summit 2023 and, in that context, the need to link this event with the ASEAN meetings that are being organised in the lead up to the summit itself. 

​The target beneficiaries of this initiative are the following categories:
a) Girls and young women: female population [aged 12-24] particularly those from low-income, remotely located and with specific needs in the Philippines will benefit from the engagement with their fellows as well with prominent personalities in the digital technology sector.
b) Officials and public figures: actualising one of the strategic objectives of the International Girls in ICT Day, the event will feature prominent government officials, business women, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists and other personalities that bring add value to the conversation and, at the same time, inspire girls and young women to embark on STEM discipline and digital-based occupation and career , and;
c) ASEAN network: government officials, women organizations, Industries partners, girls, female youth representatives, and businesswomen in the ASEAN Member States will benefit from establishing, strengthening, and cultivating one another through working relationships among ASEAN people's network.  

​Under the initiative, the program in 2023 aims:​

1. to enhance the digital literacy of girls and young women and their meaningful utilisation of such skills in the area of cyber security, data literacy and analytics, and use of ICTs and emerging technologies;
2. to explore and enhance partnerships among and with government and UN agencies as well as other actors in ASEAN Member States to continue supporting digital literacy and digital skills development of women and girls; and
3. to influence regional digital agenda and policies through the articulation of perspectives by girls and young women as result of the consolidation of perspectives and lessons learnt as well as best practices being accumulated in and from this International Girls in ICT Day celebration