ITU

4/27/2017

Europe, Litauen, Vilnius, Lithuania

As the day was coinciding with the Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) held in Vilnius, Lithuania, ITU joined hands with Kaunas University of Technology to celebrate Girls in ICT in Vilnius as a side event taking place in parallel to the RPM, at the same venue. 28 girls between the ages of 12 and 16 joined event. To ensure regional balance, girls were invited from different towns across Lithuania, namely Vilnius, Kaunas, Alytus, Klaipeda and Panevėžys.

RPM delegates were also invited to a showcasing Girls in ICT Day panel session during the lunch break, where Dr Danguole Rutkauskiene, Associate Professor of Kaunas University of Technology, together with three participating girls discussed the different ways to motivate girls into ICTs and shared the Lithuanian experience. The session was moderated by Ms Vanessa Gray, the Head of LDCs, SIDS and Emergency Telecommunications Division, ITU.

The day started with tea and breakfast and gift bags offered by Microsoft. Welcome remarks were given by Dr Danguole Rutkauskiene, who highlighted the important role ICTs play in today’s societies and the vast amount of career opportunities the sector offers. She also introduced the participants to the agenda of the day and welcomed two role models: Vanessa Gray from ITU and Ms Loreta Križinauskienė, Lithuanian National digital coalition coordinator and Managing director of „Langas į ateitį“. Ms Vanessa Gray introduced the participants to ITU including its different sectors and shared about the work of her department. This gave the girls an insight into the crucial role ICTs play in development and emergency situations. Ms Loreta Križinauskienė presented successful women in the technology industry giving the girls inspiration and demonstrating that ICT is not only men’s field. Mr Domas Sabockis from the company “Exit to Virtual Reality” gave a presentation, which included an introduction to Virtual Reality and to the ways it is shaping our world. The most exciting part was when the participants could test and experience virtual and augmented reality with the equipment of high end VR system called HTC Vive.

A video-conference was set up for an interactive session connecting the girls participating in Girls in ICT events in Vilnius, at ITU HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, and at a telecommunication operator company Alfa in Beirut, Lebanon. This offered the participants a chance to explore ICT together in an interactive format in real-time. The sessions included welcoming remarks presented from Vilnius byMr Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU-D), and a mobile app quiz game testing the girls’ knowledge on ICT related questions.

The video-conference was followed by a presentation of the winning projects from Lithuania's biggest annual robotics and technology competition, Robotiada. The session was live-streamed and a special invitation to follow the session was sent to schools across the country in Klaipeda, Panevezys, Marijampole, Alytus, Kaunas and Vilnius. Three groups presented their projects demonstrating the different ways robots can be used for fun and practical purposes. Emilija, the youngest participant started by presenting her robot called "The Candy Machine”, which she had created with a fellow student in Vilnius Smart Tech Academy. Barbora and Marija, also from the same academy, presented their project "Hand of the robot", which was created using Arduino and Raspberry Pi technologies. This robot could be controlled virtually online enabling people from all over the world to control it. The last group were Vasare and Skaiste from Panevezys’ Robotics academy and presented their project named "Tabletatorius 3000". This robot was designed to assist elderly people to remember to take their medicines on time.

After the presentations of winning projects of Robotiada, the girls had the opportunity to learn robotics themselves first-hand. Firstly, they were introduced to the definitions and challenges related with robotics and the different forms they take in our everyday lives. This was followed by a technical introduction to programming of Lego Mindstrom robots, after which the girls could start programming their robots in teams of five. There was also a mini competition where the groups could present the results of their work.

The day ended with a closing ceremony. In her closing remarks, Dr Rutkoskiene encouraged the girls to continue engaging with ICTs and informed them about the different possibilities and activities for this purpose. Each girl received a certificate of participation and the winning team of the quiz received a prize from both Kaunas University of Technology and ITU. Additionally, the youngest participant was awarded by National Digital Coalition.

Please see here for more information: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Regional-Presence/Europe/Pages/Events/2017/GinICT/Celebration-of-the-Girls-in-ICT-day.aspx 

More pictures available here