Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), in collaboration with International Telecommunication Union (ITU), hosted Girls in ICT Day on 22 April 2021 at NBTC auditorium, Office of the NBTC.
Mr. Trairat Viriyasirikul, Deputy Secretary General Acting Secretary General of Office of the NBTC, presided over the opening ceremony which was conducted virtually. Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the BDT Director of ITU also joined the event through a virtual platform to welcome participants who joined together to celebrate and encourage girls and young women worldwide to leverage ICT to reach their potential. The girls and young women could apply ICT skills to further their studies and pursue careers in ICT and improve their lives going forward.
Since 2011, Girls in ICT Day has been celebrated each year in every region worldwide on the fourth Thursday of April. Over 422,000 girls and young women from 171 countries participated in the celebration.
This year, many high-level representatives from various organisations participated in the Girls in ICT Day event, including: International Telecommunication Union (ITU); the ambassador of Canada to Thailand, Cambodia & Lao PDR; UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand (UNRCO); United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT); UN Women; the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Ministry of Digital Economy for Society; Ministry of Education; Chulalongkorn University; Thammasat University, and; CISCO Thailand.
During the opening ceremony, the role of the Office of the NBTC in applying ICT and digital technology in various projects was illustrated. These included a project providing internet connectivity to schools which uses ICT to support education during the Covid-19 pandemic and a project in the medical field to support the Thai Government’s policy to develop the country’s medical sector to be a global medical hub.
The successes of past celebrations were highlighted and topics relating to digital skills were introduced. Topics of lectures by experts during April – May 2021 will cover artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, emerging technologies, basic computer, portable device, security and networks software and hardware knowledge.
Furthermore, Office of the NBCT invited two influencers, Ms. Panraphee Raphiphan and Ms. Yardpirun Poolun, to share their personal experience and success in applying ICT in their careers. The students from all regions of Thailand participated in the virtual opening and launch of Girls in ICT Day in Thailand.
