Gender-Based Violence & Tech 'Tweetathon' on Friday, May 22

This Friday the UNiTE Campaign will be hosting a 'Tweetathon' in honor of Orange Day, which is held on the 25th of every month. Each month has a different theme, and this month is technology for ending violence against women. To bring about awareness, there will be a Tweetathon this Friday in which people will use the hashtag #OrangeDay to share information on how tech is being used to prevent violence. Use this as an opportunity to share with your network the great work that is being done in this area and to raise awareness about Orange Day. Find out more info & ideas here: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/what%20we%20do/orange_day_action_plan_may2015_technology_final.pdf

Sample Tweets

• For!#OrangeDay,!we!are!celebrating!the!tech!tools!helping!to!end!violence!against!women!and! girls.!http://owl.li/mlJkg via @SayNO_UNiTE
• 25 May! is! #OrangeDay!! How! will! you! take! action?! Join! us! in! raising! awareness! about! #technology!to!#endVAW!http://owl.li/mlJkg via!@SayNO_UNiTE

Upcoming Orange Day Themes

June – ‘Where’s the money for initiatives to end violence against women and girls?’
July – ‘Youth in action – Orange our future: the Sustainable Development Goals and a future free from violence against women and girls’
August – ‘Step it Up for Gender Equality and an end to violence against women and girls’
September – ‘The new global development agenda: what's next for efforts to end violence against women and girls?’
October – ‘Ensuring access to services for survivors of violence against women and girls’
November – ‘Orange your world: Make a dent’

See more at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action#sthash.zDsSZWu8.dpuf

Girls in ICT Day

ICT International Girls in ICT day will next be observed on 24 April 2014. 

What is ICT?

According to Wikipedia: Information and communications technology (ICT) is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.


What is a Girls in ICT Day event? 

These are events where girls and university students are invited to spend the day at the office of ICT companies and government agencies so they better understand the opportunities the ICT sector holds for their future. Ministries of ICT, Education, Labour, Youth, National ICT Regulatory Authorities, ICT companies, academic institutions, relevant UN agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders are encouraged to organize Girls in ICT day events on 24 April 2014. The ITU Secretary General invites all ITU Member States and Sector Members to organize events attracting as many girls and young women as possible.

To ensure that interested students can find more information about such events in their country, the ICT Studies and Careers Section includes links to national Girls in ICT Day activities. Public and private sector organizations are encouraged to consult the Girls in ICT Day Toolkit to help plan a Girls in ICT Day event. This Toolkit was developed by WITNET, the Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers created in line with ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70.

Please contact ITU at girlsinict@itu.int for further information and coordination if you’re planning to celebrate Girls in ICT Day in 2014.

There are a ton of information, resources, tool kits, scholarship info, and much more available on the Girls in ICT website, which you can check out here: http://girlsinict.org/

Microsoft: Inviting Girls to Dream Big

Microsoft just launched this month their Dream Big Movement campaign, which was first announced on International Women's Day and WAGGGS learned about it during a panel on girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) recently. It is an exciting new program to get girls involved and engaged in STEM courses as well as following through to a STEM career path.

Here's a cool infographic on why it's so important to get girls/women more involved in STEM careers (if it comes up small in your browser, check out the original here!):

 

Here's how you can get involved in the Big Dream Movement right now:

In the meantime, we encourage you to SKYPE BigDreamMovement and leave a personal video message. If you’re a professional woman or man, describe your Big Dream and offer advice to young women wanting to pursue a future in STEM. If you’re a young woman, tell us what is your Big Dream is and how a future in STEM can help you get there.

Here's a trailer for the documentary they will be releasing as well:





More info on the Big Dream Movement and CSW available here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/msr_er/archive/2014/03/24/inviting-girls-to-dream-big.aspx

International Women's Hackathon 2014

This April, at college campuses around the globe as well as at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington DC, there will be the International Women's Hackathon 2014. The intention is to empower young women leaders in computer science. The goal of the Hackathon is to find computing solutions to help human trafficking victims. On the Microsoft website there is a training kit as well as other information. There are opportunities for girls in high schools to get involved. Be sure to register your your event by March 25 if you are hosting one!

More info on the event is available here: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/womens-hackathon2014/default.aspx