Under the theme; ‘DigitALL: Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality’, the High Commission of Canada hosted some of the next generation of Guyanese women leaders for a panel discussion and networking event at the Canadian High Commissioner’s residence and later a courtesy call with British High Commissioner Jane Miller.
The activity was aimed at bringing together some of the most promising young women who are leaders and vocal about issues affecting youth, to encourage more conversations about the current digital landscape, explore opportunities for Guyanese women in technology and promote networking among young women leaders.
The participants were Ms. Ellen Gopaul from the Caribbean Regional Youth Council (CRYC), Corissa McClure and Terriann Wright from the Ministry of Human Service and Social Security’s Young Influencers Programme, Akeelah Andrews from the U.S. Embassy Guyana’s Youth Ambassadors Programme, Suphane Dash-Alleyne from UNICEF’s Climate Change-makers Youth Group and Jayda Overton from the British High Commission’s High Commissioner for the Day Contest. Ms. McClure and Ms. Gopaul were also previous High Commissioners for the Day at the High Commission of Canada.
Charge d’affaires of the Canadian High Commission, Caroline Mireault, explained that the mission thought it was necessary to bring these youth ambassadors together on International Women’s Day.
“Canada believes that for us to have prosperous societies, women must be allowed the opportunity to actively participate in the nation’s development efforts, especially young women. Collaborating on mutual areas of focus will bring us much further than working in silos.”
She explained that there are numerous vibrant and active youth organisations operating in Guyana so the High Commission, in partnership with other diplomatic missions, brought representatives from some of these organisations together to network, exchange views, explore ideas and facilitate knowledge transfers on best practices and innovative solutions for future collaborations. Most importantly, they would look at how this dialogue can be elevated to local and national fora.
According to an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report, as of 2022, only 63% of women use the internet, compared to 69% of men. A World Economic Forum (WEF) report said that by 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one. A study of 51 countries revealed 38% of women had personally experienced online violence, according to Gender Snapshot report in 2022. (Source – Hindustan Times)
The young women therefore explored topics related careers in STEM, the digital space as an avenue for networking and learning, bullying and abuse in the digital space among others.
One of the key points that arose was the importance of exposing girls to the field technology as a career option and the participants shared their stories about how various initiatives like the Society of Women Coders, helped them to recognise the opportunities in technology. They also discussed the responsible use of the digital space and the importance of fact checking and preventing the spread of misinformation. This was followed by a discussion on how to cope with bullying and abuse in the digital space.
A major take away from the event was the benefit of using technology to network and collaborate and the ways in which technology has helped to connect us especially during the pandemic. As a testament to how women can use the digital space and technology, the young women highlighted how they were making use of technology and innovation in their jobs, and advocacy efforts on a daily basis.
This conversation continued with British High Commissioner, Jane Miller and Deputy British High Commissioner, Judy Kpogho, where High Commissioner Miller shared that the UK launched its new Women and Girls Strategy today.
In wrapping up, Ms. Caroline Mireault noted that the empowerment of women and girls is a key area of focus for Canada under its Feminist International Assistance Policy and also aligned with the Canada’s “She Leads Here” initiative that aims to amplify the voice of women thought leaders and activists.
