International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated each year in April to underscore the critical need for strong female role models in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The objective of Girls in ICT Day is to bridge the barriers girls face in STEM education and to reinforce gender equalities by providing digital skills and tools to girls.
  

Objectives

The objective of Girls in ICT Day is to bridge the barriers girls face in STEM
education and to reinforce gender equalities by providing online access, skills
education, digital tools training, community support and opportunities to girls to be equipped with the necessary skills to think laterally, solve problems, and innovate.

The MDPA organised interactive sessions focused on the use of AI tools to support
students in their educational journey from 20 to 31 July 2026. The theme for this
bootcamp was “GenAI-ous Girls.” 473 students attended the bootcamp.

The objective of those bootcamps was to empower girls with practical knowledge
and hands-on experience in Generative AI tools, enabling them to enhance their
learning, strengthen digital competencies, and build confidence to pursue further
studies and careers in ICT-related fields.

A total of 1,042 students attended Girls in ICT talks in 11 secondary schools around the island. Speakers from 10 companies representing CCIFM, OTAM and MITIA delivered those Career Talks.

Over the years, MDPA in collaboration with our parent Ministry, has marked this day through:

• Presentations in State Secondary Schools and Career Talk during Infotech
• Girls often do not opt for Computer Science subjects at secondary level as a result of wrongly perceived misconceptions and stereotypes on the future
  career paths for ICT graduates. To dispel these misconceptions, In 2019, MDPA showcased various facets of ICT, both in terms of tertiary studies and
  ICT careers, through video interviews of role models of students enrolled at universities as well as 8 Women IT Role Models, actively pursuing rewarding
  careers
• In 2022, MDPA organised 4 Boot Camps, where some 150 girls from 36 secondary schools of the 4 Educational Zones participated were introduced to
  block coding for programmable devices
• In 2023, MDPA organised a Video Competition for secondary girl students of Grades 11 and 12, on 3 IT themes namely, Cyberbullying, Bridging the Digital Divide between generations and Transitioning from Physical to Digital World. Forty teams, comprising a total of 145 students were retained for the Competition
• In 2024, The MDPA organised a 3D Design & Printing Boot Camps 2024 involving 134 students from 32 schools, along with Career Counselling sessions
  reaching a total of 868 students
• AI-Powered Short Video Boot Camp was organised with 162 students from 39 schools in 2025, complemented by Career Counselling sessions benefiting 1,123 students