Harnessing the Innovative Capabilities of Women in ICTS for the Transformation of Nigeria

1. Harnessing the Innovative Capabilities of Women in ICTS for the Transformation of Nigeria WOMEN’S ICT SUMMIT, (WITS) 2013 Mrs. Wunmi Hassan , PhD| President/CEO High Tech Centre for Nigerian Women an Youths reachaoh@yahoo.co.uk, 08034241874

2. Aknowledgements • The Honourable Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson • The Chairman, House Committee on ICT and Chairman of the WITS 2013 - Hon. Gusau • The President of Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA) and Chairperson of the Summit 2013 – Mrs. Mary Nduma • Distinguished Participants – Great Nigeria Women across sectors and the country • Gentlemen of the Press • Ladies ad Gentlemen

3. Outline of Presentation • About Us • Preamble • Introduction • Women in Nigeria • Innovation and Women Capabilities • ICTs as a Driver for Development • Concluding Remarks

4. The High Tech Centre • About Us • Non Profit Organization • ICT Capacity Building of women and youths • Situated in the city of Abuja. • Liaise and network with public and private organizations involved in the ICT sector • Objectives • Assist in the empowerment of women and youths in Nigeria for National Development through: • Training and capacity building • Advocacy • Developing Business partnership and Opportunities • Networking at local and International levels • The capacity building hub of the nation in Policy Advocacy and Implementation through ICTs

5. Preamble • Equality for women and girls is not only a basic human right, but also a social and economic imperative; • Educated, empowered women create productive, strong economies and societies, and where women are fully represented creates a more peaceful and stable economy. • “When we empower women, we empower communities, nations and the entire human family.” (Ban ki moon UN Secretary-General )

6. Introduction • ICTs are an essential tool for the social and economic development of women, • providing education, promoting literacy, improving access to health care and participation in government and civil society. • Women then reinvest in families and communities, multiplying the benefits of investment. • The High-Tech Centre for Nigeria Women and Youths since 2004 has been addressing/appraising the decadence and fall out of women in ICT as a panacea for growth and development of Nigeria. • The questions that arises are: • How can women at the bottom of the pyramid be connected to ICTs and broadband networks? • What best practices are in place for women to be trained in e-skills, set up online businesses and engage meaningfully in social, economic and political activity? • All and more are our reasons for this Summit • to answer and our answers will go a long way in stating our case as women, and a key factor in the development of a stable and viable economy.

7. Women in Nigeria • Nigeria women have limited access to • socio-economic rights and privileges, • lower social status and • they are encumbered by harmful traditional practices to exhibit their potentials • Women suffer discrimination and marginalization. • Report shows that the major institutional constraints in women’s participation in economic activities and development process in societies are: • inadequate access to factors of production and trade • lack of credit facilities • lack of training opportunities and skill acquisition • limited access to appropriate production technologies and social services

8. Innovation and Women Capabilities • Innovation • Simply mean the application of knowledge in production • We innovate when we apply what we know to produce what we need or solve our immediate problems • Innovation works within networks i.e. a system • It is operational within a context

9. Benefits of Innovation Creativities N ICTs in areas of Local Strength Competitive INNOVATION Knowledge N, $, £, € Development IDEAS Empowering Women to Innovate in ICTs is recognising the strengths, motivations and resourcefulness that women (who are digitally excluded people) bring with them when accessing and using technologies

10. ICT as Driver for Development • Information and Communication Technologies comprise a complex and heterogeneous set of goods, applications and services used to produce, process, distribute and transform information. • The ICT sector consists of segments as diverse as telecommunications, television and radio broadcasting, computer hardware, software and services and electronic media (for example, the Internet and electronic mail) • Information and communication needs can be met by more traditional means, such as print media and fixed telephone lines, or by satellite technology, mobile phones and the Internet.

11. ICT 4 Development • The term ICT has been used to encompass technological innovation and convergence in information and communication leading to the development of so-called information or knowledge societies, • This results in changes in social interaction, economic and business practices, political engagement, education, health, leisure and entertainment. • These technologies can be powerful instruments for advancing economic and social development of citizens through: • the creation of new types of economic activity, • employment opportunities, • Improvements in health-care delivery and other services, and • the enhancement of networking, participation and advocacy within society.

12. What ICT does to your Projects/Business? delivers the right information, to the right people in the right place and time, in the right way, avoiding haziness.

13. Ripple Effects Social Media • extends the communication capabilities • wider range of interaction possibilities • promotes education and learning • From this it is clear to see that communicating online is, in numerous ways, beneficial to educating and learning. News information may also be observed online, as many news channels also provide their information on the Internet, which users of social networking sites may peruse via ‘widget’ links and applications.

14. Social Media: Avenues FACEBOOK: Perhaps the most Popular Social Media site. Facebook offer users the ability to create personal pages, sub-groups (or message boards) of people based on similar interests… Google+All you have to do is to click on this sample text and paste your own one instead. LINKEDIN The LinkedIn offers a social platform to connect people based on their professional status. It facilitates projects excution ensuring professionalism Social Media YOUTUBE: On YouTube, people can upload videos and get responses. By allowing such feedback, there is the prospect of conversation, of debate, of sharing information or perceiving new ideas. PERSONALIZED BLOGS With a highly degree of personalization possible, blogs are highly efficient for e-marketing/e-commerce. Administrator is in full charge of all contents on the site. TWITTER: Twitter encourages real-time, on-the-spot information sharing. It helps people keep up-to-date on most current events happening anywhere in the world

15. Final Remarks • The advent of social networks and its rapid development in recent times has brought about changes in: • 1. the ways of human relationships and interactions across the world. With these come the unprecedented impacts on the society; a difference in what people do and how they do it. • 2. new innovations to projects processes which we must leverage for greater successes • 3. Women need to leverage on ICTs especially, the social networks to be innovate

16. THANK YOU