Girls 'hack' for change

Approximately 90 girls and young women will compete for prizes at the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Girls in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Day Caribbean Hackathon on Thursday, April 27.

Students from high schools, universities and community colleges, including Wolmer's Girls', Hillel Academy, St Andrew High School for Girls, St Elizabeth Technical High School, American International School, Excelsior Community College, the University of the West Indies, University of Technology, and Northern Caribbean University will gather at Spanish Court Hotel, Worthington Conference Centre, for a fun-filled day in celebration of International Girls in ICT Day.

The 'hackathon', led by a group of women consultants through a joint partnership between Cotton Tree Consulting and Change Makers Development Ltd, will take place simultaneously in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

Throughout the day, young women will be engaged in hands-on activities, guided by a tech mentor, using ICT to create, innovate and generate solutions to various challenges. The activities include mobile app-building, animation, robotics, digital video production and digital artworks, and web development.

HANDS-ON EVENT

A day-long immersion in ICT, the hackathon will give the girls and young women an opportunity to envision themselves not only as users of technology, but creators.

"With this exciting hands-on event, we hope to give girls the confidence to pursue studies and careers in ICT, to facilitate greater gender balance in the sector," said Samantha Chantrelle of Change Makers.

"We want girls to know that they have the power to chart their own course in a more dynamic technology sector, which ultimately leads to enhanced productivity and innovation and better financial results," said Bridget Lewis of Cotton Tree Consulting.

Members of the public worldwide will be able to view the speakers' presentations and the day's happenings by logging on to http://www.itu.int/girlsinict