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EU-Backed SDN Drives ICT Policy Reforms to Bridge Gender Digital Gap in Bayelsa

EU-backed SDN has supported Bayelsa in reviewing its ICT policy to close its 11% gender gap in digital access.

The European Union-funded Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN) in its bid to bridge the digital gender gap in the Niger Delta, has intensified its efforts with a roundtable policy review in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The event was also an opportunity to present the draft ICT policy reforms by the Bayelsa state team led by its Steering Committee Chairman, Tariere Egbegi and Tari Okorotie, Technical Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.

Declaring the workshop open, the Deputy Programme Manager, SDN, Ifeoma Ndekwu, said recent research funded by the EU and implemented by the NGO showed a significant gap of about 11 per cent in the gender digital gap in the Niger Delta.

She noted that the workshop was part of the policy recommendation after the research, which mandated states in the region to design digital ICT policies that are suited to the special challenges and opportunities in each location.

“Let me start by saying that this project is funded by the European Union and implemented by  stakeholders and Democracy network. Basically, we found out that there is an existing digital gender gap, around 11 per cent in the Niger Delta

“We are trying to see how we can bridge that gap; and in doing that we must have a gender responsive ICT policy to enforce things where we are implementing this project and Bayelsa state happens to be one of them.

“The roundtable workshop is to gather key stakeholders within the state to review the draft ICT policy that has been developed through the support of the  Ministry of Communication Science and Technology.

“The next  plan of action as mentioned by the  technical adviser to the governor is to have a larger  engagement with more ministries, departments and agencies within the state before it gets accented to by the state governor”, she said.

The Technical Advisor to the State Governor on ICT, Okorotie, while presenting the draft, said the policy outlined the framework for the development, deployment and implementation of the ICT infrastructure across the state.

The mission, he said,  is to ensure that no citizen is left out in Bayelsa digital transformation by bridging the digital divide, promoting inclusive growth across all sectors and delivering accessible and integrated public services and harnessing the power of ICT.

Olusegun Samuel

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