Girls Shaping the Digital Future: Tonni’s Journey from Coastal Shores to Digital Frontiers

On International Girls in ICT Day 2026, Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN) drops its final spotlight of its Impact Story Series on Tonni Mondal—a dreamer from Bangladesh's coastal belt. Through Tonni’s story, we will take you to a place where dreams often compete with limitations—dealing with strong winds, cyclones, limited resources, limited exposure, and especially the weight of being a girl in a world that rarely saw her potential. STEM and ICT? Those were city luxuries, worlds away from a remote coastal school. 

Tonni Mondal, a student from one of the six remote schools under BdOSN’s STEM & ICT Skills for the Girls of Coastal Area (SISGCA) project, is proving that geographical location cannot be the boundary if opportunities are bridged. Tonni is a ninth-grade student in Shaheed Alim Ahmmed Govt. Girls High School at Tala, Stakhira a remote village of Bangladesh’s Coastal region where “digital divide” is not just a buzzword but a physical reality marked by limited access to quality educational resources, minimal exposure to technology, and social barriers. 

Then the STEM & ICT Skills for the Girls of Coastal Area Project arrived to her school. It’s Portable labs bridged the digital divide with hands-on magic: programming in fun coding languages, robotics basics that sparked invention, science experiments defying textbooks, and math turned playful puzzle. 

“At first, I was afraid. I wondered if I truly belonged in a space filled with sensors, code, and science experiments." Tonni admits.

But the SISGCA project was designed specifically for this moment—to bring the world to deprived girls like Tonni. Through hands-on experiments, fun mathematical logic, and basic robotics, the "foreign" became familiar. 

Through interactive sessions on programming, basic robotics, science experiments, and mathematics, she began to move beyond textbook learning and engage with practical knowledge. The learning process not only enhanced her technical understanding but also built her confidence and critical thinking abilities.

From Curiosity to "Thinking Out of the Box", the transformation didn't happen overnight, but it happened deeply. Line by line, she built her first program, watched an animation character dance to her commands on the screen of a tablet. Seeing a circuit come to life, Tonni discovered that ICT was more than just computers—it was a toolkit for problem-solving.

Tonni participated in a STEM Fest, organized in her school where more students from other schools in that region participated as well in different contests. Tonni and her team got prize in both programming and robotics contest. 

Tonni was in Class 7 when BdOSN introduced the SISGCA project in her school. Now in Class 9, Tonni reflects a visible shift in her learning attitude and aspirations. She has moved from having little understanding of STEM concepts to actively engaging with problem-solving approaches and exploring future pathways connected to ICT. From zero STEM knowledge, she now plays with code, find out the technological path for solving any real-life problem.

“I did not know much about STEM before. But through attending SISGCA activities, I started enjoying playing with code, motors, and sensors. Now, learning new things has become my passion. Although I want to be a doctor in the future, I want to embed my technological knowledge into my profession.” 

Today, Tonni’s dreams have grown beyond limits. She has become a Coastal Ambassador. She wants to use her ICT skills to help her community and find a place in the future job market. Let’s keep building paths so every girl, no matter where she lives, can dream, learn, and lead beyond the barriers of gender or geography.

"I come from a place where dreaming big is not always easy, but hands-on experience in STEM has given me the confidence to believe that I can become anything I want, and I aspire to serve my community with care and dedication."

While her transformation continues to evolve, we're excited to see her keep growing in her academic performance, career aspirations, and community contributions in the coming years, underscoring how bridging opportunity can contribute to reducing the digital divide. 

As BdOSN concludes this series, Tonni’s journey reflects the core message of International Girls in ICT Day 2026: empowering girls with digital skills today is essential to building an inclusive and innovative workforce for tomorrow. The theme of International Girls in ICT Day 2026, "AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future," is only possible if the future includes every girl, from the heart of the capital city to the furthest shores of the coastal belt.