Northern Region: 1000 girls trained in basic ICT skills
Since 2017, the ministry, under the stewardship of Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has adopted the initiative as a platform to equip girls between the ages of nine and 15 with knowledge and skills in basic ICT
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has trained 1000 girls in the Northern Region in basic Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills.
The girls, who were selected from across all 16 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the region, were trained in coding, cyber security, and website development.
The ministry has already trained 1,000 girls in the Savannah Region early this year. Other regions to benefit from the training this year are the Eastern, Volta, and Greater Accra regions.
The ministry said the initiative is part of the Girls-In-ICT programme, which is being implemented in collaboration with its agencies to bridge the gender gap in ICT in Ghana.
The MMDAs in the Northern Region benefitting from the ICT skills are Mion, Karaga, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu, Kpandai, Gushegu, Tatali, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba, and Zabzugu.
According to the press statement, the training project is to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider studies as well as careers in the growing field of ICT.
It also stated that 100 selected teachers from the various districts had already been trained to be able to take the girls through these skills.
“The Girls-In-ICT programme is all about breaking the myth around women involving themselves in ICT,” the statement said.
The programme is implemented with support from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) as the technical resource provider and training by Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence (KACE).
It is also supported by MTN Ghana, the National Communications Authority (NCA), American Towers Company (ATC), and GIZ, among others.
The Five-Day Training of the selected girls from the participating Region in basic ICT and coding, through which the girls explore the world of technology through the creation of websites, computer games, and animation stories using scratch.
According to the statement, the program has the following components:
* Training of 100 selected Teachers from across the selected Region.
* Training of 1000 girls in ICT from across all districts within the deleted Region.
* Mentorship session whereby women in the ICT field will share their personal and professional experience with the girls in order to encourage and guide them in their future endeavors.
In a press statement released, the climax event is also expected to take place, where awards will be presented to the best-performing girls.
“It is important to note the following achievements between 2017 and 2022: 8,000 girls have been trained and mentored in Ashanti, the Western North, the North East, Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo.”
“800 teachers have been trained to train more girls in ICT; beyond the program, 43 cyber labs have also been set up this year, and 1,267 laptops have been given to teachers and top-performing girls.
“In spite of the important achievements over the years and the immense contributions to the MoCD with support from the various partners, the enormity of the gender digital divide remains a challenge, hence the need to scale up the program to cover more regions in the country,” the statement reads.
The press statement has also made a passionate appeal to all corporate institutions for sponsorship to impact the lives of the young girls in 2023 and beyond.
Reporting by Tahiru Abdul-Washiru in the Northern Region
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