The International Conference on the Role of Women Leaderships in Empowering Women in the Digital Field issued a set of recommendations, at the close of its proceedings, on Thursday, December 21, 2023, in Nouakchott, capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, following rich discussions and constructive interactions. The Conference was held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and its Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW), and saw high-caliber women participation and experts in the field of digital transformation from ten countries.

The Conference, held under the patronage and in the presence of Dr. Maryam Fadel Al-Dah, the First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, recommended focusing on digital governance, organizing intensive training sessions for girl dropouts, and promoting digital entrepreneurship. It also recommended bridging the gap between rural and urban areas in terms of Internet services, training children and young people in the fields of digitalization and AI ethics, and setting up digital networks for women and digital university centers.

Following the opening session, the Conference held its first panel, which focused on digitalization and gender, where Dr. Youssra Al-Jazairi, Associate Professor at the College of Dentistry at King Saud University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stressed the importance of empowering women in the digital field, especially in the health sector, and providing opportunities to benefit from mobile technologies in service of remote areas.

Speaking next was Dr. Zeinebou Abdel Jelil, President of the National Youth Council in Mauritania, who highlighted her country’s efforts to bridge the gender gap in the field of technology and digital transformation, followed by Dr. Amal El-Fellah Seghrouchni, Executive President of the International Artificial Intelligence Center in the Kingdom of Morocco, who talked about the role of AI applications in promoting women’s presence in the digital field.

Moreover, Dr. Sonia M’Barek Assistant Professor and former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tunisia, called on the developing countries to exert joint efforts to support women’s presence in the field of technology, while Dr. Khadijetou Mint Mohamed Salem, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Mauritania, addressed her Ministry’s strategy and mechanisms to achieve digital transformation.

The first session was moderated by Dr. Sally Mabrouk, Expert in Institutional Development, who commended the quality of the discussion and the ideas and proposals put forth to contribute to bridging the gender gap in the digital field.

During the second panel on, “Digitalization: Challenges and Opportunities,” participants stressed the importance of access to information and Internet services. As for the last panel, the participants reviewed key success stories of women leadership in the digital field, major initiatives and successful experiences to promote the presence of women in the digital field, and mechanisms to address the challenges through building digitalization capacities.

At the close of the Conference, Dr. Omar Halli, Advisor to ICESCO Director-General for the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, expressed his thanks to all participants for the rich discussions and constructive ideas to address the challenges facing women in the digital field, stating that the Federation will work towards implementing the Conference recommendation on building a digital network of women working in the field.