 Ladies and gentlemen, we often hear that young women and girls are losing interest in subjects like engineering and technology. In films and on TV, these fields are portrayed as an exciting and dull, leading to boring jobs that don't really make a positive impact on people's lives. As ITU Secretary General and a satellite engineer by training, I can assure you that the very opposite is true. Over the past 20 years, ICTs have evolved into a fascinating field, dynamic, fast changing, and most importantly, impacting almost every aspect of our lives. ICTs have become an essential part of a huge range of scientific disciplines, from biotech to medicine, forensics, chemistry and every kind of engineering, combining these and other disciplines with ICT studies will give today's and tomorrow's students the winning edge. The ICT industry is the fastest growing industry in the world today, and that's not just true in large economies like Europe, Japan or the United States, it's true in just every country worldwide. That means that girls with ICT skills will never be out of work. They will earn salaries that put them on a par with the highest paid professionals like lawyers, doctors or airline pilots. What's more, they will have much more flexibility in their work choices. ICT skills mean girls will be easily be able to work almost anywhere in the world and take up new opportunities in different countries whenever they wish. ICT professionals get to work on some of the most exciting projects imaginable on the cutting edge of all kinds of research. ICT is improving the lives of people everywhere through better healthcare, better environmental management, better communication and better educational systems that transform the way children and adults learn. It really is a glamorous life and the possibilities are limitless. We are truly at the very beginning of an information revolution that will transform the world. So my question to all of you on this year's Girls in ICT Day is simple. Don't you want to be part of that?