Address
Mauritius Digital Promotion Agency
2nd Floor, Wing A
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower
Cybercity Ebène 72201
Phone
460 2600
Email
contact@mdpa.mu
To celebrate International Girls in ICT Day 2024, the Mauritius Digital Promotion Agency (MDPA) operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation (MITCI) organised an award ceremony to reward the best students in a 3D Design & Printing Boot Camps as well as to reward the speakers of Career Counselling which were organised in 10 secondary schools around the island.
Both projects were organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology. The Girls in ICT Day is celebrated worldwide on 25 April 2024 to underscore the critical need for strong female role models in STEM. The guiding objective of Girls in ICT Day is to bridge the barriers girls face in ICT education and to reduce gender inequalities by providing digital skills and tools to girls.
A total of 32 Schools with 134 Students participated in the Boot Camps. Each Boot Camp was carried out in a regional school and was held over 2 full days with the participation of Grade 12 girl students from schools within the Zone. The Winning Teams were as follows:
| Prize | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 | Zone 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Prize | Royal College Port Louis | Manilall Doctor SSS | Notre Dame College | Dr. Maurice Cure State College |
| 2nd Prize | G.M. Dawjee Atchia State College | Quartier Militaire SSS | Forest Side SSS | Eden College Girls |
| 3rd Prize | Pailles SSS | Sir Leckraz Teelock SSS | Riv. des Anguilles State College | Sodnac SSS |
The Career Counselling sessions, focused on encouraging Girls to embrace studies and careers in IT. The talks were held in State Secondary Schools (Girls) in concert with the Ministry of Education Industry Associations OTAM, MITIA and CCIFM. The talks, of duration of 1 hour with around 90 Grade 10 girl participants for each School, were delivered by senior HR representatives of companies nominated by industry associations. A total of 868 students attended the above talks in secondary schools around the island.
The Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin; the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah; the Executive Director of the MDPA, Dr Suraj Juddoo; and other personalities were present at the award ceremony.
The programme was sponsored by ICTA and SIL.
