The demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals continues to grow, while women remain underrepresented in the field. CyberWizards aims to address this gap early by giving young girls the opportunity to discover cybersecurity in a practical, creative and engaging environment. 

According to Tiina Pau, organiser of the CyberWizards Camp, interest in technology and cyber security can develop as early as school age. “The field of cybersecurity is in increasing need of skilled specialists, and an interest in it often develops as early as at school. The camp gives girls the chance to experience for themselves just how varied, creative and exciting this field really is. If they leave here knowing that they, too, could choose to study IT or pursue a career in cyber security in the future, we will have achieved our goal,” said Pau. “Our greatest reward is if, a few years later, we hear that a former camp participant has decided to pursue a career in IT and hopes to work in the field of cybersecurity in the future.” 

Held in Kehtna, Estonia, the week-long proramme combined practical cybersecurity exercises, programming and online safety with workshops and teambuilding and problem-solving exercises. In addition to technical knowledge, the camp offered learning in international environment to build friendships across borders, exchange experiences and discover how digital challenges can be addressed through cooperation. 

For EU CyberNet and LAC4, supporting the participation of girls from small island countries was also an opportunity to build a cyber bridge between the Pacific and the Caribbean and the initiative connected future cyber talents, encouraging networking and creating peer-learning opportunities. 

The participants from Fiji were selected in cooperation with the Digital Government Transformation Office, Ministry of Education and Women in Tech Fiji, while the participants from the Bahamas were selected in cooperation with the National Computer Incident Response Team of the Bahamas (CIRT-BS). 

The 4th edition of CyberWizards brought together 93 girls from 9 countries (the Bahamas, Czechia, Cyprus, Estonia, Fiji, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine). The camp was organised by Estonian Information System Authority (RIA). 

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eucybernet/albums/72177720335041998