.It has finally been recognised that the girl child has been socio-economically under-developed and under-resourced for decades. In an attempt to address this disparity, Cell C initiated Take a Girl Child to Work Day® on 8 May 2003. Fast-forward to 2017 and the business community will now celebrate the campaigns’ 15th Anniversary. On Thursday, 25 May 2017 businesses and organisations once again host and motivate a group of girls to “Dream, Believe and Achieve”.

Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® has become a respected movement aimed at imparting knowledge to girl children. Ericsson, as a participant, has recognised this and this year decided to have a series of events leading up to the 2017 Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day®.

On Friday, 12 May 2017, Ericsson South Africa approached The Wot-If? Trust to host a conversation with young women from Diepsloot. The conversation among twenty young women was anchored by the hashtags #Tech4Good #GirlTalkZA #GirlsMatter #WomenMatter #Diepsloot2030 and #ProtectMyDiepsloot.

Most of the young women who participated were either seeking work or work experience or were already working and using technology to their advantage. The questions posed to the young women revolved around the challenges that they face in a community such as Diepsloot and what resources they have available to address and remedy these challenges.

The one point that constantly came to the surface was abuse against women! This theme is not new and is something our global society needs to address as a systemic limitation to the successful development and advancement of women. It was clear that young women in Diepsloot want to do more for their community but need to strengthen the ‘sisterhood’ and build networks that support women. Using Technology, these young women are determined to seek solutions that empower women, connect service providers, promote good news stories and access opportunities for young girls and women.

Following the dialogue with Ericsson, The Wot-If? Trust ended the evening by treating the young women to an experience at the European Film Festival. As part of The Wot-If? Trust’s Cultural Exchange programme, the young women were able to enjoy the movie American Honey. The intention was to engage in further dialogue around the power of Media, Information and Communication Technologies. The twenty young women have since been “tasked” to reflect on their experiences and highlight their learning.

The Wot-if? Trust is delighted to have partnered with Ericsson to facilitate this important dialogue and align to the Cell C Girl Child initiative, all as part of their drive towards Diepsloot 2030 and building a brighter future for the community.

What are you doing to support women and the girl child on Thursday, 25 May 2017?