AWITA 2018 Awards Ceremony (“The Women in IT Award”), 2nd in number, was held with a support of Bakutel and organization of Azerbaijani Women in ICT - FEMMES DIGITALES Club. The award was presented to the most successful women engaged in the field of information and communication technologies in Azerbaijan.

The presentation ceremony took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, alongside with a traditional dinner organized on the occasion of the official opening of the Azerbaijan International Telecommunications, Innovations and High Technologies Exhibition - Bakutel-2018 international exhibition and conference.

AWITA 2018 ceremony gathered over 500 professionals and guests. The Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ramin Guluzade, the Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Yankauskas, the Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee Igbal Babayev, the Head of Estonia’s Diplomatic Mission in Azerbaijan Maya Tasa, the Prorector of the ADA University Fariz Ismailzade, the Executive Director of the Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication Center Vusal Gasimli, the ambassadors of the foreign countries, delegations and representatives of IT industry of the country also were among them.

In addition to Bakutel, PASHA Bank, B.EST Solutions, MONT Azerbaijan, Rabitabank, Bakinity, Lilac, R.I.S.K, Sinam, Ultra, Cybernet, Azer Agrar, Tovuz-Baltiya, Microsoft Azerbaijan, STEP IT Academy and Synergy Partnership are also among the partners and sponsors of the AWITA 2018 contest.

More than 100 applications have been submitted for the contest. According to the final results, the winners in 11 nominations were determined. Digital Leader engaged in the public sector Leyla Mammadova (acting as an Executive Director of AzInTelecom), jury’s choice- Sahiba Hasanova (expert in radio-communication field at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Innovator of the Year - Shabnem Mammadova (Adviser of the Agriculture Minister on Innovations), Founder, CEO or IT Director of the Year - Naina Mehdiyeva (General Director of Golden Pay), 2018 Field Nomination: Women in AGTECH - Jale Amirbayova (Private Entrepreneur, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association), Employee of the Year - "B.EST Solutions" (“Asan İmza” mobile e-signature operator), contribution to IT sphere in the region and remote area - Bahar Abdullayeva (teacher of the Ismayilli Region senior secondary school No. 1 named after I.Hasanov), Innovative teacher of the Year – Aliya Ahmadova (teacher of physics and informatics of the Sumgayit City senior secondary school no. 1 named after I.Gayibov), Startup of the Year - Elnara Mammadzadeh (Founder and Managing Partner of Dataforest), Programmer of the Year - Laman Gadirli (teacher in the STEP IT Academy), Union of the Year in the IT field / Educational program of project in the IT field – Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center are announced the winners.

Each year within the AWITA Contest, the prize is awarded for contribution given the development and support of the activities of the Azerbaijani Women in ICT -“FEMMES DIGITALES” club. This year the prize was awarded to the Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministry of Education, ASAN Service, ADA University and STEP IT Academy. The AWITA 2018 event is considered the largest event aimed at popularizing and propagating IT filed among the women, as well as demonstrating women’s achievements in technology and innovation in Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani Women in the ICT – “FEMMES DIGITALES”, was created to unite women engaged in the public and private sectors, as well as to provide them with education and career advancement. This year, the club has celebrated its 4th anniversary.