While many individuals with disabilities are technologically savvy, persons with disabilities in general are faced with a digital gap. This is further compounded by digital gaps along lines of gender and socio-economic status, amongst others. These digital gaps need to be addressed, if we want to ensure that persons with disabilities do not miss out on the opportunities provided by the digital economy.

This course helps policymakers understand the size and drivers of the mobile gender gap in low- and middle-income countries and provides insights and recommendations on how to improve digital inclusion for women.  

Digital technology is becoming important in addressing sustainable development challenges. This course introduces participants to the challenges of digital inclusion, the consequences of digital divides, and the opportunities towards inclusive and equitable digital transformation. The modules focus on digital inclusion, evaluation, and approaches to understanding ICTs and their relationship with development and governance in a changing technology landscape.

Children, or everyone under the age of 18, make up an estimated one in three internet users globally. The digital world provides children with unprecedented opportunities, while also exposing them to online risks and harms that require dedicated efforts to understand and address. Governments, parents and caregivers, educators, civil society, and children and young people themselves all around the world have a role to play in shaping a safe and positive digital environment for children.

By completing this course, you will be able to better understand how to achieve gender equality in the digital sector, and how gender analysis can be used as a tool to contribute towards project, program and global goals towards gender equality results. Research reveals that despite unprecedented advances in digital technologies, women worldwide face unique barriers preventing them from fully benefiting from the digital sector at large. The problem is that the digital sector is an area where gender analysis has been less widely used than in other sectors, leading to gender inequalities.

With consideration of the curriculum followed in respective learning institutions, the courses delivered under the African Girls Can Code Initiative are categorized under two Modules that include Technical Skills and Soft Skills. This approach aims to build and strengthen the digital skills of the young girls and enable them to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) while preparing them for future career opportunities in the digital sector.

This course discusses building inclusive and digitally accessible environments and communities, underlining the importance of digital inclusivity and accessibility for all people, empowered through ICTs regardless of gender, age, ability, or context.

One of the many barriers that persons with disabilities face in accessing employment opportunities is that many career sites and job portals do not contain accessible digital content and have not been designed and developed with ICT accessibility requirements in mind. Employers committed to inclusive employment need to be aware of this. Guaranteeing that job portals meet the necessary accessibility requirements is critical for persons with disabilities to enter and thrive in the labour market.

The training course aims at raising awareness and increasing the capacity of ITU members, stakeholders and policy-makers to address the two global megatrends of population ageing and the exponential rise in digital technologies. Through its three modules the training provides holistic information and guidelines on digital inclusion tailored to the challenges faced by older persons.