The First Deputy Minister of the HTI delivered a speech at the UN Economic Commission for Europe Regional Forum on Sustainable Development

On March 29, the First Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the RA Gevorg Mantashyan delivered a speech at the round table on “Partnerships for inclusive and sustainable digital development” of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region.

In his speech, Gevorg Mantashyan emphasized that since 2020, Armenia has been one of the leaders of the “Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality”.

“Together with the UN we implement various programmes to enhance the entrepreneurial skills of girls and young women and promote their activity in the ICT industry. One of the initiatives introduced by the UN to achieve this goal was the Accelerator#5 program, which provided training in programming, business, marketing, and business English to over 300 girls and young women across Armenia. The programme resulted in the development of 10 new startup ideas and kickstarting of 3 Armenian startups.

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the RA is implementing various initiatives aimed at empowering women in the technology sector. According to the digitalization strategy of the RA for 2021-2025, educational programs are planned aimed at developing the digital and technical skills of women and girls. The Мinistry also provides support to technology startups led by women.

The Ministry also supports start-up technology companies with female managers. In 2021, the share of such companies among the beneficiaries of the granted grant programs was 16%,” said Gevorg Mantashyan.

The Deputy Minister stressed that according to the data from the first semester of 2022, the involvement of women in the field of information technologies in Armenia was 43%, compared to 40% in 2021.

Concluding his speech, Gevorg Mantashyan noted that Armenia will continue to implement various programs to involve women in the technological ecosystem and unleash their potential.

The Roundtable was co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with the contributions of UNEP, UNIDO, and UN Women, and was held in Geneva in a hybrid format.