NEWS
An Academian at the University of Bahrain Stresses that the International Community Should Listen to the Voice of Youth in Cybersecurity
Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Khadijah Abdusalem)
March 25, 2023
Assistant Professor at the College of Information Technology, University of Bahrain, Dr. Amal Mohammad Al-Rayes, participated in the “UN Open-ended Working Group on Security of and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies” program, on 6-10 March 2023, at UN Headquarters in New York, after being nominated by the UK-Gulf Women in Cyber Security Fellowship.
Dr. Al-Rayes expressed her happiness with this opportunity, which enabled her to get acquainted with the most important leaders in the field of cybersecurity. She presented her views on the importance of engaging the academic sector in discussing the top cybersecurity concerns noting that the issue of cybersecurity has intergenerational importance, which requires the international community to listen to the voice of youth. She also highlighted the regional experience of partnerships between the public sector and the private sectors in capacity building. Several recommendations were presented on capacity development regionally and internationally.
Dr. Al-Rayes confirmed that her participation in the program enabled her to attend the UN discussions on the development of an action program to build cybersecurity capabilities at the global level. She added that such participation opens horizons of international collaboration, raises awareness of cybersecurity, and inspires participants to develop new initiatives in their countries.
The program included a side event at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the largest UN annual gathering on gender equality and the empowerment of women, titled “Increasing the Representation of Women in Information Technology”, organized by both the Permanent UK Mission to the United Nations and Microsoft Corporation.
Dr. Al-Rayes mentioned that the meeting shed light on the challenges facing women seeking to find jobs in cyber diplomacy and technology sector, and the impact of the lack of diversity in cyberspace. It also discussed opportunities to increase the representation of women in technology and digital and electronic diplomacy, and encourage more collaboration between governments, the United Nations, the private sector, civil society, and non-governmental organizations.
It is worthy to note that Al-Rayes, obtained the UK-Gulf Women in Cyber Security Fellowship in 2022, and she is a member of the Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME).
