International Girls in ICT Day: How Young Africans Are Coding Their Way Into the Future
International Girls in ICT Day is being marked with a strong emphasis on the rights of girls to participate fully in education, innovation, and the digital economy, highlighting how access to technology is increasingly central to child development in the modern world. More than 80 girls from across Africa recently gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for coding training supported by UN Women, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the African Union Commission, with funding from the Danish government.
From a child rights perspective, the initiative reinforces the principle that every child has the right not only to education but also to participate in emerging fields that will define their future. As technology continues to transform global economies, ensuring that girls are included in ICT learning spaces is seen as essential to closing the gender gap and promoting equal opportunities for development.
UN Women notes that the future of work is increasingly shaped by technology, with an estimated 65 per cent of children entering primary school today expected to work in jobs that do not yet exist. This underscores the importance of equipping girls early with digital literacy and technical skills that support long-term economic independence and personal empowerment.
Across different countries, young girls are already taking initiative in shaping their own learning environments. Examples include a 16-year-old in The Gambia who established a robotics club at her school, a student in Georgia organizing hackathons for girls, and another in Ethiopia who built a drone during a coding camp. These stories reflect a growing recognition that girls are not only beneficiaries of technology education but active contributors to innovation.
The initiative aligns with broader child development goals that prioritize participation, creativity, and equal access to opportunities. By investing in girls’ ICT education, stakeholders are reinforcing the idea that children have the right to be heard, to learn relevant skills, and to actively shape the future they will inherit.
