On 23 April 2026, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), alongside the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations in Geneva, the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC), and the International Gender Champions (IGC) marked the 15th anniversary of Girls in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Day. 
Girls in ICT Day serves as a platform to inspire girls and young women to engage with technology, pursue STEM studies and explore careers in ICT through education, skills-building, mentoring, and empowerment. This year’s Geneva celebration centred on the theme “AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future,” and featured the participation of an expert panel leading a conversation on the need to broaden the inclusivity of the ICT sector.
Three Gender Champions spoke at the event. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the ITU, began proceedings with an impassioned call for the young women in the room to “lead with curiosity,” telling them that they belonged in the ICT sector, and would be needed in the years ahead to help humanity embrace 100% of its potential. 
Her remarks were followed by a fireside chat, featuring, among other speakers, UK Ambassador for Human Rights Eleanor Sanders and UNICC Director Sameer Chauhan. Ambassador Sanders reminded those in the room that “if we leave designing new technologies to only one half of the population, this leads to products that only work for one half of the population.” She called for the next generation of women in ICT to get involved in designing the future of digital technologies from the ground-up, to be “shapers, not just users.”
Sameer Chauhan urged for more diversity in the tech sector, calling on all industry leaders to ask themselves the question “who are we building for?” He encouraged young future leaders to challenge themselves at every step of their professional journey, and to bring their curiosity, their creativity, and their capacity to their journey in ICT.
The fireside chat also included contributions from Nur Sulyna Abdullah, Special Advisor and Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership at ITU, Dr Erica Moret, Microsoft’s Director of United Nations and International Organisations, and Kseniia Fontaine, Business Development and Operations Officer at the ITU.
Photos featured courtesy of the ITU and Clara Laviale, UNICC.