Seven years ago, Anastasiya Buchok of Uzbekistan took the first step to learn about technology and participated in IREX’s Tech Age Girls [17] (TAG) program. Today, thanks to that initial spark, she has a successful career working for a major software company.
While not all TAG alumni go into IT careers, all of them gain better skills and access to technology for everyday use at school and work. This project helps to close a “gender digital divide” that is sometimes attributed to girls’ reports of less positive attitudes and self-efficacy toward ICT than boys.
Chosen from a pool of applicants, the girls develop basic IT and leadership skills and go on to help their communities. So far, more than 1,000 across six countries have taken part, with new projects recently launching in Vietnam and the Philippines.
With our on-the-ground partners, IREX recently selected 278 young women to develop fundamental ICT and leadership skills during the initial program phase. The girls--the first in their communities to participate in such an undertaking--will graduate with new tools and knowledge to make a difference for themselves as well as society at large.
After going through the program, TAG alumni contribute back to their communities, transferring their skills and knowledge to those in need. On average, each TAG participant trains and passes on knowledge to an additional 30 people.
On the first International Day of the Girl [18], IREX salutes the Tech Age Girls, welcomes the newest participants in the Philippines and Vietnam and looks forward to all they will accomplish.
In the Philippines, TAG is implemented in partnership with PhilCeCNet [19], and in Vietnam it is coordinated in partnership with Thai Nguyen University Learning Resource Center [20] through the Global Connections & Exchange Program (GCE) [21]. GCE is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State [22].