Prishtina, 28.04.2016 – “The department of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) is one of the sectors that can give a great contribution to the economic growth of our country as well as greater involvement of female potential in this field”, said the Minister of Economic Development, Blerand Stavileci at the opening of the conference “Gender and ICT”, which was held today at the American University of Kosovo in Prishtina.

The conference was organized on the occasion of International Girls in ICT Day, under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Development, in partnership with AUK, USAID, IPKO Foundation, etc.

Minister Stavileci said that the MED is committed to give this sector a breath of fresh air and set it at the center of the economic policy of our country. “The ICT is one of the only sectors that could help economic development, it is a ‘Cross over value’ because it links all sectors. I believe that agriculture and IT can be the bearer of economic development because together they make up 24% of our GDP, one 11% and the other 13%”, said the Minister.

He also announced that Kosovo already has an initiative regarding a program for job creation and competitiveness in the private sector, which has been renamed Kosovo Digital Economy, project ‘KODE’, which will have three main pillars; a) digital infrastructure, b) digital skills and c) digital businesses.

Minister Stavileci added that they are working on coordinating the activities towards the advancement of this sector and giving women their deserving role in ICT, which will transform this sector.

On the other hand, the US Ambassador in Pristina, Greg Delawie, estimated that the ICT sector offers good opportunities for growth, innovation and employment, which is all the more important. “We must reduce the gap between the genders, encouraging young women to enter the sector of ICT is the best way to accomplish this equality”, said Ambassador Delawie adding that careers in ICT are dynamic, flexible and well paid.

Whereas, Norway’s Ambassador in Pristina, Jan Braathu, said that women tend to not study mathematics or information technology, therefore we should encourage them to study in these directions and girls should realize that ICT is not only a profession for men, but also for women.

On behalf of the World Bank, Lundrim Aliu said that empowerment of women is important not only for them, but also for the children, their families, and the economy in general. According to him, women in Kosovo are facing major challenges in the labor market and this situation is more emphasized in rural areas.

Furthermore, the conference continued with presentations on the topic of “Entrepreneurship in ICT: the path to success”, with presentations from Ferdinand Kjærulff, CEO of CodersTrust, Denmark; Nele Kapretz, CEO of Impact Hub, Berlin and Mergim Cahani, CEO of Gjirafa, Prishtina.

Also, part of this conference was the ICT Job Fair and various workshops held by partners of the event.