In the lead up to the National Day of the Girl and International Day of Education, the High Commission of Canada, in partnership with the Digital Empowerment Foundation, launched an initiative entitled “World Wide Women – A Campaign on Women’s Digital Leadership’.
The aim of the campaign is to train young women and girls from rural and marginalised communities in five Indian states, and areas of Nepal and Bhutan, to build their capacity in digital entrepreneurship, internet use and digital marketing, through a series of training workshops.
Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner, Ms. Amanda Strohan, launched the campaign along with Chief Guest Mr. Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov India. Speaking at the launch, Ms. Strohan said: “I am delighted to launch the ’World Wide Women‘ campaign today. Canada is committed to taking concrete action towards achieving digital equality and ensuring that women and girls have access and the necessary skills to use digital tools to participate in decision-making. This commitment is reflected in Canada’s role as the Chair of the Freedom Online Coalition in 2022.”
Mr. Abhishek Singh said: “Once we are able to train and empower women in digital technologies, only then we will be able to claim that we are a truly digitally empowered society. I congratulate the Canadian High Commission and the Digital Empowerment Foundation for launching this, and hope that we will be starting the process of creating 15 digital leaders who can provide leadership to the digital story of India.”
Mr. Osama Manzar, Founder-Director of DEF said: “This collaborative programme will reach out to 150,000 women through three country cohorts, 150 digital entrepreneurs and 15 super digital women.”
A panel discussion on the topic ‘Women’s digital leadership: Possibilities and challenges’ was hosted at the launch event. The panelists included Mr. Singh, Ms. Sara Chamberlain, Director of Digital, BBC Media Action and Ms. Naghma Mulla, CEO, Edelgive. The discussion provided insights on the key barriers women face in using digital technologies, and the various approaches to utilize existing skill development programmes to enhance women’s digital skills.
Trainees from rural India, Nepal and Bhutan also participated and shared their excitement for the program and their ambition to become future entrepreneurs.