Huawei chooses Portugal to host the 1st edition of ‘Summer School For Female Leadership In The Digital Age’

  • ECO News
  • 24 August 2021

The objective is to recognise the potential of female talent in ICT, as well as to proactively support it by empowering the new generation to lead the technological revolution.

Huawei chose Portugal to host the first edition of the “Summer School for Female Leadership in the Digital Age”, a pioneering initiative that runs until August 27 in Lisbon. The goal is to recognise the potential of female talent in information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as proactively support it, empowering the new generation to lead the technological revolution.

“It is another step in bringing the female audience closer to technology, students and companies, which will provide the entire academic universe and the following generations with greater gender equity in ICT areas,” says Diogo Madeira da Silva, head of public affairs & communication at Huawei Portugal, quoted in a statement. “Hosting the first edition of this event in Portugal is, for us, a source of pride and a result of our positioning in an increasingly inclusive market, through numerous actions and strategic partnerships.”

In order to change the current paradigm, Huawei went ahead with the creation of this summer school, launching a competition that received more than 1,200 applications from students across the European Union. “A jury composed of personalities of recognised European prestige and chaired by MEP Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, selected 27 participants from all member states, who will receive a full scholarship that will cover all the costs associated with their participation, in order to ensure equal opportunities,” Huawei said in a statement.

The goal of the meeting is to create a more inclusive digital era, as well as to build a platform through which tomorrow’s leaders can connect, share experiences and support each other, following the European spirit of cooperation and solidarity.

“Through these projects, it is possible for us to understand the reality of women working in technology not only in Portugal, but also in Europe, and thus respond in the best way to the needs and challenges identified,” says Sandra Ribeiro, president of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), one of the institutional entities supporting the initiative.

The event is also supported by the INCoDe.2030 programme, whose goal is to place Portugal at the level of the most advanced European countries in the digital dimension by 2030. “To reach this goal, it is necessary to stimulate several skills, namely the digital transition based on the promotion of gender equality, to increasing women’s participation in this area,” says Luísa Ribeiro Lopes, general coordinator of INCoDe.2030.