Hakom - Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency

ZAGREB, 15 April 2016 – For the second year in the row, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) will be part of the global initiative aimed at raising the awareness about the importance of including girls in the field of information and communication technologies and at emphasising the advantages of a career in the ICT sector. The International Girls in ICT Day initiative was launched by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and it is implemented in more than 140 countries in the entire world. HAKOM is in charge of the initiative in the Republic of Croatia. The International Girls in ICT Day is marked every year on the fourth Thursday in April, which is why on Thursday, 28 April, a series of activities will be organized aimed at encouraging girls to choose a career in this exciting sector of the Croatian economy.
 
Activities within this initiative, launched by HAKOM, and implemented in cooperation with project partners, Ericsson Nikola Tesla and IBM Croatia and with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of the University of Zagreb, are envisaged throughout the year. A series of educational workshops are envisaged during the week before the main event, from 18 to 23 April 2016. The workshops will consist of hobbies and games as a fun way of introducing the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and ICT to children. In addition to the ˝Smart Lumies˝ workshop, which is intended for preschool children, there will be one more workshop entitled  ˝Lego Education˝ which is held in Croatian. This workshop has been developed and used for 30 years in cooperation with teachers and educational institutions in the entire world. The education programme focuses on the transfer of knowledge in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and it is aimed at elementary school children who are beginning to learn about concepts in these areas. The workshop entitled “Math with Cryptography” will be led by Mr. Krešimir Čanić and Mr. Toni Milun. In the introductory part the participants will learn about the short history of secret codes and letters and the development of cryptography. The participants will learn how to encrypt a message and how to “decrypt” messages. The “IBM Workshop”, and a visit to Ericsson Nikola Tesla, a regional leader in ICT industry are also planned.
 
Faced by all kinds of prejudice and stereotypes in their everyday lives, including because of their sex, age or selected studies, girls in the entire world, and in Croatia, most frequently show interest for careers which do not include specialization for the ICT field.  At the same time, the ICT sector lacks experts and it is dominated by men. The issue of the insufficient number of experts could be easily solved by encouraging girls and women to specialize in this sector. Research has shown that elementary education has crucial influence on the selection of future areas of education, and the promotion of careers in the ICT sector includes the preparing of children from the earliest age, in particular of preschool and elementary school age girls, by developing their IT skills and by increasing their technical confidence and competences with a view to encouraging them to choose a career and employment in the ICT sector. The importance of education, which should start at the earliest age, will be one of the topics of a round table held on the International Girls in ICT Day. This round table will gather distinguished female experts who have a successful career at management positions in the ICT sectors.

ABOUT HAKOM: HAKOM (www.hakom.hr) - Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries – ensures preconditions for a fair market competition, stable growth and environment for innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market. HAKOM protects users’ interests and the possibility of choice among various communications and postal services at affordable prices, defines sustainable competitive conditions for operators and service providers under fair conditions for return on investment, and provides support to economic growth, public services and the quality of life in the Republic of Croatia by using modern technologies. HAKOM’ strategic goals are: to promote regulation of the electronic communications and postal services market, to support growth of investments and innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market, to provide efficient use of limited resources, to accelerate the growth of broadband products and services, to provide affordable offers of communications and postal services, to provide protection and informing of users, to build an efficient and comprehensive information system, to define and implement efficient processes, and to acquire multi-disciplinary competencies in market regulation.