Celebrated on the 4th Thursday in April of every year, International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative spearheaded by the ITU, UNESCO’s partner in the implementation of follow up to the World Summit on the Information Society.  The International Day aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

“Women in African History: An E-Learning Tool” promotes the ICT competencies of young girls, and ensures that local content is available to underline the important contribution of Women to African Development.  The tool is an interoperable internet platform that consists of multimedia content including comic strips, interactive pedagogical units, audio modules, and quizzes in order to highlight the role of women in African History. This project, funded through the generous contribution made by the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria, develops ICT tools for knowledge acquisition and sharing that encourages the general education and ICT capacity of young women, promotes their use of ICTs, and capitalizes on heritage to promote the link between technology, culture, education, and sustainable development.

The tool is currently available in English and French and will be made available in Arabic and several African languages, including Swahili and Dioula, shortly. The project seeks to highlight the role ICTs have in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment by developing Interoperable and Multimedia Open Educational Resources to expand and disseminate knowledge of the role of women in African history, countering gender-based prejudices and stereotypes.

“Women in African History: An E-learning tool” represents a crucial step to expand and disseminate knowledge of the role of women in African history to counter prejudices and stereotypes in the framework of UNESCO’s seminal work “The Pedagogical use of The General History of Africa.” In line with UNESCO’s Gender Equality Action Plan, the Project seeks to empower women through ICTs and access to information and knowledge to promote an accurate understanding of their role in the economic, social, cultural, and political development of the Region.

The uptake of the tool in secondary schools in Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia, has been met with enthusiasm from teachers and students alike, underlining the important role technology is playing in transforming education in Africa, and the importance of local, gender-sensitive, content.

Sheila, a 15 years old female student living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,  hurries up to go school in the early morning. Today, in her computer lab, she will learn about Wangari Maathai, the famous female Kenyan environmental activist. This lesson will show her and her friends how much women are central in African societies...

Firdous, Adelaide and Manal are three close friends studying in a multilconfessional primary school in Mombasa, Kenya. Today, in their computer lab, they will learn about Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the Nigerian female leader of the Abeokuta Women's Union, one of the biggest female organisations of the 20th century which fought to further the rights of women...

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Haregewoin cannot find inspiration for her poetry. Her former IT teacher will introduce her Njinga Mbandi, a famous African queen of the 17th century, and share with her several artistic and pedagogical materials including a poem entitled 'My Queen' dedicated to her memory. Haregewoin will listen to it and be inspired…..