ChildSafeNet

Today, 23 April 2026, is International Girls in ICT Day.

This year’s theme - ‘AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future’ - comes at a critical juncture. Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect. It is already shaping how children learn, connect, and express themselves. From algorithmic recommendations to automated interactions, AI is actively influencing opportunities, behaviours, and risks.

Why Girls Must Lead the AI Revolution

Girls are not passive users of technology. They are creators, problem-solvers, and leaders. Their meaningful participation in ICT is essential for building digital systems that are not only innovative but also safer and more accountable.

When girls and young women lead in AI and ICT, the impact is profound:

* Challenging Algorithmic Bias:

They identify and dismantle the prejudices often embedded in data and code.

* Safety by Design:

They ensure that dignity, wellbeing, and protection are foundational features, not afterthoughts.

* Lived Experience:

They bring vital perspectives to tackling online abuse, grooming, and exploitation.

* Ethical Advocacy:

They champion rights-based approaches to ensure technology serves humanity.

AI for Development Must Mean AI for Protection

In an era where AI-enabled harms are growing in complexity, exclusion is a risk we cannot afford. Encouraging girls to pursue ICT is about more than career paths - it is about power, participation, and protection.

It is about ensuring that the systems shaping children’s lives reflect their realities and uphold their fundamental rights.

Our Call to Action

We call on governments, schools, families, and technology companies to:

✅ Invest in girls’ participation in ICT and AI education

✅ Dismantle structural barriers, including gender bias and the digital divide

✅ Create safe, enabling pathways for girls to learn and lead without fear of harassment

✅ Embed child rights and safety by design into every digital innovation

A safer digital future will not be built by code alone. It must be designed with intention.

🔗 Read more: https://www.itu.int/women-and-girls/girls-in-ict/international-girls-in-ict-day-2026/overview/

Save the Date: 23 April 2026 — International Girls in ICT Day

At ChildSafeNet, this day is not just symbolic. It speaks directly to the future we are building.

The 2026 theme, ‘AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future’, could not be more relevant. Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping how children learn, interact, and experience the digital world.

From content recommendations to online interactions, AI is already influencing opportunities, behaviours, and risks.

The critical question is this: who is shaping these systems?

If girls are excluded from designing and developing AI, the systems that define children’s digital lives will continue to reflect narrow perspectives, reinforcing bias and overlooking safety.

This is why the theme matters.

When girls and young women are actively engaged in ICT and AI:

✅ They help identify and challenge bias embedded in algorithms.

✅ They contribute to building safer digital environments by design.

✅ They bring essential perspectives to addressing online abuse and exploitation.

✅ They strengthen community awareness, resilience, and digital literacy.

✅ They advocate for ethical, rights-based development of emerging technologies.

In a time when cyberbullying, grooming, and AI-enabled harms are increasing in scale and sophistication, inclusion is not optional. It is fundamental to safety.

AI for development must also mean AI for protection.

Encouraging girls to enter ICT is not only about access to careers. It is about ensuring that the future of technology is shaped by diverse voices, grounded in lived realities, and aligned with the rights and wellbeing of children.

Now is the time to act. Join the movement.

Support girls to shape AI. Advocate for safer systems. Help build a digital future that protects, empowers, and includes every child.

Read more: https://www.itu.int/women-and-girls/girls-in-ict/international-girls-in-ict-day-2026/overview/