ITU–EY AI Skills Accelerator for Girls — Asunción, Paraguay

The AI Skills Accelerator for Girls is a two-year initiative (2024–2026) run by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau with EY, aiming to give at least 1,000 girls and young women across 12 countries hands-on training in artificial intelligence. In Paraguay, the national telecommunications regulator CONATEL and the Ministerio de la Mujer co-hosted the country's workshop in Asunción in October 2024.
The one-day session covered an introduction to AI, machine learning, big data and coding, alongside dedicated discussion of AI ethics, bias and risk, and closed with mentoring on AI career paths. It was delivered as part of the program's first cohort, which ran 13 workshops across six countries (including Paraguay, Malta, Kenya, India, Kazakhstan and Jordan) and engaged more than 470 participants in total.
ITU and EY report that participants in the first cohort showed improved understanding of core technology concepts and greater confidence about pursuing further study or careers in AI, based on post-workshop surveys. Paraguayan participant Lorena Jiménez, an engineering and business information technology undergraduate, was quoted by EY saying the workshop was "truly gratifying and extremely helpful" and could "foster significant projects for women" in Paraguay. Beyond this aggregate survey data and individual testimonial, no Paraguay-specific outcome figures or independent, controlled evaluation of learning gains have been published to date — a limitation the program's own materials do not address. The initiative's continuation through 2026 and its backing by a national regulator and ministry point to institutional follow-through, but the evidence base remains self-reported at this stage.

Read the full analysis: https://www.itu.int/women-and-girls/women-in-ict/ai-skills-accelerator-for-girls/