Guest of honour Datin Paduka Hajah Suriyah Binti Haji Umar, Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance), Ministry of Defence (center, sitting down) in the group photo at Media In-Service Centre (MiSC) yesterday.

The 2015 Girls in ICT Day event organised by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) was held at the Media In-Service Centre (MiSC). The theme for Girls in ICT for 2015 is “Girls and Women and Innovation”. The audience was made up of Government CIOs, ICT industry representatives and students.

The Guest of Honour was Datin Paduka Hajah Suriyah Binti Haji Umar, Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance), Ministry of Defence. The event was attended by Senior Government officers and female students from various educations institutions.

In the welcoming remarks by Assistant Chief Executive Corporate Communications, International & Legal of AITI, Tina Lim Keasberry highlighted the need to raise awareness in girls and young women about career possibilities in ICT and encourage them to consider a future in technology. Today’s world of ICT is more human oriented and requires the communication skills that girls and young women bring to the table. By nurturing an interest in ICT early on, we open the door wider to ICT study at the secondary and post-secondary levels and, ultimately, greater workforce participation by women.

Guest of honour delivering her speech

Tina Lim Keasberry, Assistant Chief Executive Corporate Communications, International & Legal of AITI, giving her opening remarks

Dk Siti Nor Bazilah Binti Pg Zulkipli, Asia Pacific ICT Awards 2013 winner for her mobile app call Autisay

Najwa binti Hj Majid, Senior Legal Counsel from Universiti Brunei Darussalam, moderating the session

A sharing session took place by Dk Siti Nor Bazilah Pg Zulkifli one of the team members who created Autisay. AutiSay is a mobile application created as a tool to assist children with autism to communicate with their parents, therapists and care givers. Dk Bazilah shared the journey that she and her team had to go through to develop the application which won at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards in 2013 and shared her thoughts on the benefits that girls and young women can gain by choosing the ICT as a career.

This was then followed with a panel discussion moderated by Najwa binti Hj Majid, Senior Legal Counsel from Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Panelists were Ikmalina Hakimah Hj Mohamad Yunos from Itsybytes, Siti Zurainah bte Zainalabidin from eGovernment National Centre, Hjh NurZurina Hj Assim Headmistress from Panaga School and Dk Siti Nor Bazilah Binti Pg Zulkipli, Asia Pacific ICT Awards 2013 winner. After the panel discussion, an open floor discussion centered on the theme of“Girls and Women and Innovation” between the students and the panelists took place.

Following the discussion, tokens of appreciation were then given to the speakers and the panelists of the day.

The attendees also had the opportunity to tour the MiSC centre and learn more of the many facilities that are provided.

In conjunction with Girls in ICT Day 2015, AITI will also be organizing a CodeUp Women on 8 May 2015 which will include discussions on the current situation for female programmers in Brunei Darussalam, the challenges, obstacles and opportunities followed by a hands on practical session on mobile apps.

The Girls in ICT Day event is an initiative backed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of ICT. The event is celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of April. This year marked the third year that Girls in ICT Day is celebrated in Brunei Darussalam. Text and images courtesy of AITI.

A token of appreciation to the guest of honour

 

Lin Cheng-yi, president of the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) being accused of match fixing for the first match between Chinese Taipei and Brunei Darussalam where Brunei won 1-0. Image courtesy of Chinese Taipei Football Association.

Such a sad news to hear this that there was a match fixing involving Chinese Taipei and Brunei Darussalam. The alleged match was the first round of the Asian qualifiers of 2018 World Cup when Brunei beat Chinese Taipei 1-0 at their home turf. It was reported that Lin Cheng-yi, president of the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA), has been accused of match fixing and he profited USD 1.29 million for that victory.

He instructed the Chinese Taipei’s head coach Chen Kuei-jen to leave out one of the top players, Turkish-born Chu En-le, who is now a naturalized Taiwanese citizen as reported in Next Magazine.

Chen has denied all the allegations and claimed that he didn’t give any instructions to keep Chu En-Le, their top player, out of the first match. The incident is still under investigation and let’s see where this will go from.

Playing under the name Chinese Taipei, the Taiwan team will meet Japan, South Korea and China in the second round of qualifiers that starts June 11, as they vie for a place in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Chinese Taipei’s head coach Chen Kuei-jen (center) during the press conference in Brunei Darussalam

The night when Brunei Darussalam made history when they beat 1-0 against Chinese Taipei in the first round of Asian qualifiers of the 2018 World Cup.