International Girls in ICT Day

This year for the first time, Croatia has, with a range of activities, joined the global movement of total 140 countries worldwide that on April 23, 2015 mark the International Girls in ICT Day. In Croatia, the main activity holder is the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) as a member of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and partners of the project are the Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) and the Company Ericsson Nikola Tesla (ENT).

For the sixth consecutive year, every forth Thursday in April, girls and women are offered special opportunities and additional motivation in looking at their own future in the world of ICT. Despite the fact that already in the 19th century the first machine algorithm was written by a woman, Ada Lovelace, after whom the program language Ada was named, which made her the first acknowledged programmer in history, and the author of the first compiler that made the idea on machine independent program languages popular was also a woman, Grace Hooper; technologies, as well as ICT, are still traditionally considered to be “a man's profession“. The modern society is still impacted by various prejudices and stereotypes, thus the events related to this symbolic day have the goal to change the inequality in gender perception and the increase in the number of women who are studying and working in one of the most prosperous sectors of not only the economy, but science as well.
 
The activities started last week, when a group of high school and faculty female students visited Ericsson Nikola Tesla, where they were warmly welcomed by the President of the Company, Gordana Kovačević, MSc. The President encouraged the girls to pursue a career in ICT, sharing her own experience, and after that the girls were very curious to take a tour of the Company's Technology Road. 
  
The closing event, a round table on topic “Girls and Women in Croatian ICT Sector- Both Sides of the Medal“ showed how contribution of women to Croatian ICT sector is already very big.The crowded Grey Hall at the Zagreb  Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing and many other questions that were not asked, for which there was no time left, due to an enormous interest, witnessed that there is still a lot of room in ICT segment in achieving true gender equality, but also that in this segment, Croatia has world relevant and successful women and organizations, i.e. practices.
 
The introductory lectures, given by Professor Mirta Baranović, PhD from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Vedrana Miholić, the founder of the association “Programerko“  and  Višnja Ljubičić, Gender Equality Ombudsperson, started a discussion which culminated during an interactive panel in which Gordana Kovačević, Ivana Matić, representing the portal Women in Adria and Tanja Pušelj Ostroški, from IN2, also participated. The participants of the discussion agreed that there is still prejudice towards women in this interdisciplinary and innovative occupation, however, that persistence, creativity and knowledge can overcome the prejudice, of which their personal examples of competing with male colleagues witness. We would like to especially highlight a noted participation of Gordana Kovačević, who has the proven authority in the global market, and is the leader of the ICT Company that hires almost 30 % of women, and has clearly proved that ICT area is too relevant and too big to leave it only to men. This is precisely the sector of the future and prosperity in which success, hard work and new ideas do not know unnecessary limitations and also gender differences.  
  
 
Video

Schedule of Events

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