3.3 Americas

Key highlights

Activities

	Free courses for young women about programming and the transformative potential of technology. Topics include Videos Games and Apps - Block programming (App inventor, Scratch, Robotics, Batteries); design your first web page - level 1 (HTML + CSS + JavaScript); Program your web page - level 2 (HTML + CSS + JavaScript + Bootstrap + Agile Methodology) and introduction to programming - Block programming (App inventor, Scratch, Robotics, Python).
	Courses delivered online (e.g., through a YouTube channel) or presence based.
	Scientific curiosity among girls and promotion of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) stimulated through talks and specialized workshops.
	Talks with women working for ICT companies.
	Mentorship for young women, for instance through a network of mentors. Internships and scholarships for young women (that can be financed by partnering companies).
	Celebration of the Girls in ICT Day, institutionalizing its commemoration, for instance through a ministerial decree.
	Hackathon for girls and young women to envision themselves, not only as users of technology, but as creators. Topics include fundamentals of filmmaking, design thinking, web and mobile app development, geo-spatial (drone) technology, podcasting, gaming and animation.
	Measurement and data collection on STEM: conduct technical analysis, develop indicators, monitor.

Resources

	Use the facilities of Digital Points or ICT Access Centres (public spaces offering access to the Internet) to deliver presence-based courses. Support the bring your own device (BYOD) concept.
	Rely on municipalities or local governments to reach out to girls and young women living in rural areas.
	Platform to provide vocational guidance with a gender perspective in STEM to women and girls.
	Network of mentors and institutions (public and private sector, research centres, universities, etc.).
	Provision of digital services use the 5G network to reach isolated areas.
	Tablets and foldscopes to support projects and programmes targeting women and girls.

Collaboration and partnerships

	Stakeholders: Head of Cabinet of Ministers; Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity; Ministry of Public innovation; National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies ICT regulator; private sector; civil society.
	Institutionalized gender-focused inter-ministerial coordination mechanism, for instance, in the form of a technical committee with the participation of ministries in charge of Education, Science, and Women and gender equity.
	Collaboration with the private sector to offer training programmes and spaces of interaction for women and girls.
	Collaboration with international organizations to implement projects and programes (e.g., UNESCO; ITU).
	Alliances with municipalities to reach the entire country, especially rural areas.

The Center for Genders in Technology (G+T) (Argentina) is a public-private initiative of the national government working together with companies in the ICT sector. It offers training programmes and spaces of interaction, for girls, women and minorities. Mentorship, cooperation agreements, and internships are key elements. Scholarships are financed by the participating companies. Online seminars are offered through a YouTube channel. Coordination meetings are held between the Secretariat for Public Sector Technical Innovation (Head of the Cabinet of Ministers), the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, Ministry of Public innovation, National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies, a company ARSAT, and the G+T Center, together with representatives of other public bodies, civil society and private sectors, to develop strategies, objectives and action plans. The practice started to be replicated at the sub-national level.

The Digital@rs Girls Programme (Argentina) invites young women to discover the transformative potential of technology and connect with the world of programming, through free courses. Workshops on the following topics are offered: Videos Games and Apps – Block programming (App inventor, Scratch, Robotics, Batteries); design your first web page – level 1 (HTML + CSS + JavaScript); Program your web page – level 2 (HTML + CSS + JavaScript + Bootstrap + Agile Methodology) and introduction to programming – Block programming (App inventor, Scratch, Robotics, Python). These can be offered online or using the facilities of Digital Points, which are public spaces offering access to the Internet. Talks are organized with women working for the company, to help adolescents discover the transformative potential of ICTs. Alliances are established with municipalities for the programme to reach the entire country. The company that provides the budget for its execution and relies on the municipalities for the logistical work required to reach out to adolescents interested in the programme.

The Girls in ICT Day and Caribbean girls ‘hacking’ for a safer future (Barbados) raised awareness to all tech savvy females. The hackathon day gave girls and young women, an opportunity to envision themselves, not only as users of technology, but as creators. Topics include fundamentals of filmmaking, design thinking, web and mobile app development, geo-spatial (drone) technology, podcasting, gaming and animation. The practice was supported by private and public sector entities.

The SAGA UNESCO and gender advancement (Chile) project aims to improve the measurement of indicators for decision-making on plans and policies that reduce the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It is based on an institutionalized gender-focused inter-ministerial coordination, where the participation of the following ministries: Education, Science, and Women and gender equity (that has the technical secretariat). These institutions collaborate in a Technical Committee on conducting technical analysis, making recommendations on the development of indicators, transfer, and transform international experience in monitoring systems. The project includes a platform to provide vocational guidance with a gender perspective in STEM to women and girls, as well as a network of mentors and institutions (public and private sector, research centres, universities, etc.).

The pilot project on Transmission of mammograms through 5G technology (Chile) included a gender perspective. An alliance between government and private sector demonstrated the potential of 5G network in the telemedicine sector, by developing the first mammography using this technology in Latin America. 5G technology will allow the results of a patient’s mammography to be wirelessly transmitted to specialists located in the Digital Hospital, providing important prospects for remote examinations in isolated areas of the country. This project has the potential to bring the functionalities and benefits of the 5G network to citizens, especially women, through digital services. A 5G Campus network has been deployed – a public-private initiative that has experimental spectrum to test new technologies – and 22 universities and technical training centres in six regions of the country have already signed up.

The celebration of the National Girls in ICT Day (Guatemala) started as an event celebrated by the regulator (Superintendencia de Telecommunicaciones, SIT). Following the recommendations by ITU, different sectors and institutions have been convened achieving, ultimately, that the Ministry of Education issued a decree where the commemoration of the International Day of Girls in ICT was included in the annual calendar of all students in Guatemala. The Ministry of Education assumed responsibility for the commemoration. Given the legal framework and mandates of the institutions, the regulator participates approaching public and and private institutions and reporting on this activity.

Practices stimulating girls’ scientific curiosity, popularising science and promoting STEAM (Guatemala) include a project and programme geared towards the stimulation of scientific curiosity among girls and the promotion of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics). Talks and specialized workshops are organized, ensuring that there is gender equity in the student groups of the beneficiary schools. Also, a motivational forum on women in science promotes the participation of girls in science and eliminates false beliefs that it is an activity in which women do not fit. The programme “I can be a scientist”, put in place out by the National Secretariat of Science and Technology (SENACYT) in coordination with the Ministry of Education, consists of a researcher or a scientist presenting her area of expertise, the challenges she faced and how she has overcome them. The Instituto Ítalo-Latino Americano donated to 30 tablets and 300 foldscopes to support the project and programme.

The ICT Access Centres Initiative (Trinidad and Tobago) has currently six operational community-based ICT Access Centres in the country. Location of the centres was determined through a survey conducted by the Telecommunication Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) which identified underserved communities throughout the country. The centres provide equipment for connectivity and Internet access via a cyber-café, rooms, and WIFI, supporting the bring your own device (BYOD) concept. Users can access information on government services, training and opportunities for entrepreneurship and income enhancement/generation. Facilities aim to be gender neutral and all the programmes are designed to be inclusive allowing access and use without discrimination. The ICT Access Centres are aligned with Strategic Thrusts of the ICT Blueprint (National ICT Plan 2018-2022).