Walda Roseman, the Internet Society’s Chief Strategic Communications Officer, was honored by the ITU Secretary- General at the Plenipotentiary Conference Women’s Breakfast, 21 October 2014. She received the ITU Gold Medal from Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré for her outstanding work on youth and gender issues, and for her dedication over the years to promote women in ICT, both in the ITU and beyond.
Ms. Roseman’s work in this area began in 1992 when she organized the first women’s ITU event and, over all these years, it has grown to a major initiative. This year’s ITU Women’s Breakfast, which she also helped to organize, was a great success with more than 300 attendees, including all the ITU elected officials and candidates for elected position, as well as a host of Ministers.
In 2001, Ms. Roseman launched the ITU Youth Forums, which ran for nine years. The Youth Forum was a new concept in recognizing and empowering young people to contribute to the ICT sector and to utilize ICT for broad economic and social development. It selected a young woman and man from each country, resulting in approximately 1000 women and 1000 men alumni, many of whom are today important contributors to ICT in their countries and at the global level.
Both efforts, which often intersected, have provided the springboard for the ITU’s focus on gender and youth initiatives, as well as national level programs and policies and the launch of Girls in ICT in 2010.
Congratulations to Walda Roseman and special thanks for her tireless work to encourage women in ICT.