TheITU has named actress and advocate Geena Davis “Special Envoy for Women and Girls in the field of technology.”
This announcement comes as part of an ITU campaign that highlights the empowering role technology can play in the lives of women and girls. The three-year campaign will raise awareness worldwide of the role information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in empowering women.
The new partnership follows the naming of Davis as a laureate at this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Awards, which were held at ITU headquarters in Geneva on May 16.
“I’m thrilled with this new position because ITU is an incredible organization that wields a lot of clout globally,” said Davis. “This role will enable me to take the work I’m doing to a much bigger scale globally, through developing and consulting on strategies to advance gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women in ICTs. It’s incredibly important to get more women and girls connected to technology, and a big factor in making this happen is going to be ITU’s work.”
One of Davis’s first activities in her new role as special envoy, says the ITU, will be to promote the organization’s new “Tech Needs Girls” campaign throughout the course of 2012, through public appearances at high-profile events held by the ITU and others.
“I am delighted that Davis will be joining us in our campaign to help expand the opportunities open to women and girls, and redress the current gender imbalance in the ICT industry,” said Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU secretary-general. “The support of committed, high-profile ambassadors like Davis will greatly increase the impact and reach of our message about ICTs and gender empowerment.
