Remarks of Resident Coordinator Thailand on Girls in ICT Day Thailand 2021

It is my pleasure to join the Opening Ceremony of Girls in ICT Day.

I would also like to thank NBTC, CISCO, and the Asia Pacific Tele-community for the support you have offered to the UN over the past decade as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of this event globally and in Thailand.

Young women who are joining the programme today, are at the forefront of change. The fact that you were selected for this programme demonstrates your leadership skills. Very well done. However, this brings with it the responsibility to make best use of the training that is offered, as you network with the 400,000 young women globally, who have participated in this training previously and pave the way for making successful careers in ICT.

The one-month leadership programme, will provide you with the foundation to enhance your level of digital skills, including the basics of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, knowledge of emerging technologies to advance sustainable development and raise awareness on safe use of ICT.

The UN Secretary General on Girls for ICT day said that making digital technologies available to all is an essential part of building back stronger communities and economies.

For Thailand, as an upper-middle-income country, innovation, engagement with research and design, ICT and science, technology, engineering, and math are imperative for the transformation to a 4.0 high value and sustainable Thailand. It is for this reason that digitization and digital inclusion is a key priority for the UN in Thailand, as we develop our new Cooperation Framework with the Government.

I am excited for your journey as it gives me a strong sense of optimism for the future. I believe the digital skills training programme will engineer social transformation through digital empowerment to meet the challenges of the future and prosper in this increasingly technology-forward world.

Let me conclude by thanking our partners from the Government of Thailand, the private sector, the academic community, and members of the UN family for their dedication to inspire young women to take this journey and create progressive career paths for themselves, while contributing to making this country and the world a prosperous, peaceful, and sustainable place.