KINGSTON, Jamaica — Flow and BTC, consumer brands of C&W Communications, have signed on as platinum co-sponsors of the upcoming Caribbean Girls Hack Technocreativity Hackathon, which will take place on Saturday, May 8.

“This hackathon is one of the various ways that we are engaging with our girls and young women across the Caribbean as we nurture their interests in and passion for ICT through a practical, hands on event. It is important for us to support deliberate initiatives such as these. We therefore look forward to  engaging with the attendees in our Sponsor’s Lounge as well as the various booths in the Flow/BTC Tech Zone where they will participate in technology training from several global and regional entities and organisations,” said Kayon Mitchell, director of communications at Flow Jamaica.

The partnership was welcomed by Bridget Lewis, Co-Founder, Caribbean Girls Hack/SheLeadsIT.

“SheLeadsIT, in collaboration with our technology partner, Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC) Tech Clubs, is pleased to welcome Flow and BTC on board as a Platinum sponsor of the Caribbean Girls Techno Creativity Hackathon 2021. As one of the leading Telecoms providers in the region, Flow has been a partner on this journey since inception, consistently demonstrating their commitment to gender equality in the ICT sector and the empowerment of women and girls to actively participate in the global digital economy.  We also welcome sister brand, BTC and thank them for embracing the work we are doing and their support for this event,” she stated.

“We have been an advocate for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so, it is especially important to us that we actively play a role in changing the current dynamic in the industry.  The more females we inspire to enter the industry, the more we will see an increase in their representation in the labour market and the more diversity we will benefit from in the long term,” added Stephen Price, country manager at Flow Jamaica.

C&W Communications through its consumer brands, Flow and BTC will also stage a video competition for girls between 12 and 15 years where participants will submit a two to three minute video on the topic: “Why is it important for girls/women to pursue a career in ICT?”

The company will also host a Girls in ICT Forum in June with several regional female ICT leaders as they demystify the path to a career in ICT and expand the dialogue on the various advances and opportunities in the ICT space.

The Caribbean Girls Hack/She Leads IT initiative is being staged virtually as organisers comply with COVID-19 measures. 

Among the confirmed participating organisations are Women Tech Makers (Google), Women in Tech Caribbean, Unbreakable Social Impact with History, Vijay Computer Academy, Creative Tech Hub Caribbean and STEM Caribbean Media.  Participants will also be exposed to technology-driven initiatives focused on climate awareness and gender-based violence (GBV) and there will also be live sessions throughout the day at various virtual booths.