The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN Women have awarded Nigeria the GEM-TECH award that rewards countries that empower girls and women through ICT policies and programmes.
The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology was amongst 37 finalists selected from 360 nominations from 74 countries and went on to win the award in the 7th category of “ICT and Broadband strategies, policies and frameworks that promote women’s digital empowerment.”
Dr Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication Technology, described the Award as an important recognition and validation of the efforts of President Goodluck Jonatahn’s administration on gender inclusion and empowerment facilitated by information and communication technologies.
“We are committed to getting more women and girls into ICTs. We want to ensure that Nigerian women and girls are encouraged and empowered to embrace ICTs. It is critical to get our girls to adopt ICTs so that they are not left behind in the digital revolution changing communities and nations across the globe,” she added.
The awards were a part of the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary in Busan, South Korea on the 28th October.