Communication Ministry Launches ‘Ms. Geek Ghana’

An Information Communication and Technology (ICT) driven competition, dubbed ‘Ms. Geek Ghana’, has been introduced by the Ministry of Communications (MoC).

The competition, which was founded in Rwanda as ‘Miss Geek Rwanda’ in 2014, and later became ‘Miss Geek Africa’ in 2017, seeks to change the attitude of young girls towards the adoption of ICT, and also equip them with digital skills in line with the SDG goal 5 objectives.

Speaking at the official launch in Accra, Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said the competition is targeted at young girls between the ages of 13 to 25 who are capable of using technology to solve national challenges.

”The statistics of girls in technology are not encouraging and we are determined to put in place initiatives that will end all forms of stereotyping of young women pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. If we give the right opportunities, we will be able to unearth a lot of hidden talents and be working to achieve gender equality to empower young women in fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.

According to her, the ministry is committed to highlighting the role females bring to the tech-sector and promised her outfit’s readiness to offer young girls the opportunity to showcase what they have.

“Students of Mamfe Methodist Girls won the International Robotics Competition, and they informed me that they have also developed a solution to the bed bug infestation in our second cycle institutions.

“There are probably many more of such hidden talents utilizing technology to solve common everyday challenges,” she added.

Encouragement

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful used the occasion to encourage girls in the basic schools to be passionate and take advantage of the opportunities that the ICT world offers people, globally.

She argued that, with desire and determination, Ghanaian girls can garner opportunities in ICT and even create jobs for themselves, provided they remained focused in their studies.

“There are huge opportunities, and even those who are already employed are upgrading themselves. There are opportunities Africa can take advantage of and feed the rest of the world with the skills because we have a youthful population under 45 years. Very soon, the world will rely on Africa for employment, and with the necessary skills, we can do it, she indicated.

She regretted that although women constituted about 51 percent of Ghana’s population, men take about 80 percent space in the ICT world.

Call For Support

The sector Minister again called on stakeholders to support the competition to encourage more girls to consider a career in science and technology.

“I am encouraging all technology companies, telecommunications companies to partner with us so that we can provide exciting prizes, not just to the top 3 finalists, but to all the top 10 finalists, to encourage, inspire and motivate them to continue innovating,” she said.

Selection Criteria

The application must describe the problem one wants to solve and how he or she wants to go about it. This must include a conceptual design, technologies intended, stakeholders involved and how content will be generated and shared. The solution must be original or an improvement on existing solutions.

Applicants are expected to provide a graphical representation demonstrating how the solution will be work, and may submit their entries in person, by post or via email at [email protected] or [email protected].