Girls-In-ICT beneficiaries rise to higher progress in educational duties

By Justice Dzido On Nov 1, 2023

The benefits of the Girls-In-ICT initiative is spearheading so fast and becoming very promising in the growth of the country’s digital agenda with many young girls moving from lower space to higher space in their individual life development and progress.

The recent development which has become a significant milestone for mention is the fact that, two young ladies who placed 1^st and 10^th position in the 2017 edition, held in the Bono Region, are now studying Mathematics & Computer Science at the University of Ghana and Geomatic Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology respectively.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful who expressed excitement over the latest news at the climax of the 2023 Girls-In-ICT celebration held in Koforidua in the Eastern Region said, this and many more other improvements in the initiative keeps pushing her to seek for the better welfare of young women all over the country.

“During my usual tours in the last week of training of the girls, these young girls who most of the time have not used or seen a computer before, baffled me with the confidence they exude after a few days of exposure to the computer. It was more satisfying when I learned two of the young ladies who placed 1^st and 10^th position in the GIICT initiative in 2017, held in the erstwhile Bono Region, are now reading Mathematics & Computer Science at the University of Ghana and Geomatic Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology. I know there are many more out there and we will make efforts to establish contact with them. I want to use this platform to motivate the students to continue honing their talents by practicing more of what they have learned. We encourage teachers to form coding clubs to enable the girls practice more of what they have learnt to develop their ICT skills” she said.

Sustainabilty

The Ablekuma West lawmaker detailed a number of prospects made by the Akufo-Addo administration to sustain the Girls-In-ICT initiative across all country with the aim that, no individual is left behind in the journey.

She indicated that, since its launch in 2012, it has seen to the benefit of 12,981 young girls and 1,200 teachers adding that, it falls in line with the Ministry’s aim to maintain regional balance, and necessary collaboration across all regional level.

“The Government through the able leadership and vision of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has championed the Digital Agenda, and Ghana is progressively becoming a digital economy, and this will enable the participation of girls and women in the ICT sector to bring onboard new perspectives and ideas to be considered, and conversations in the ICT sector will be reshaped to include a holistic development of technology.

“It is significant to note that the Girls-in-ICT Initiative seeks to inspire girls and young women to consider pursuing programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by introducing them to career opportunities in the ICT industry and encouraging them to embrace ICT. If we want our young maidens to be innovators and suppliers of answers to our developmental problems for the good of everyone, we need to develop and enhance their digital literacy and skills while they are still young. This is a deliberate policy to bridge the digital gender divide.

She added, “Since the GIICT Initiative’s launch in 2012, 12,981 young girls and 1,200 teachers have benefited and in line with the Ministry’s aim to maintain regional balance, we have celebrated this Initiative on a regional level. The opportunity to use ICT and receive essential exposure will now be available to girls and young women across the country. Since the launch of the Girls-in-ICT Initiative by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2012, the initiative has had a variety of themes, and this year’s theme, “Digital Skills for Life”, is essential to build the capacity of these young ones in the ICT ecosystem especially when the world has become a global village. Countries like South Korea are championing the promotion of digital skills and entrepreneurial skills with the ICT sector to drive their digital transformation. It is a good model for us to learn and this initiative provides the platform to shape the mindset of our young girls. We want then to believe that it is possible.”