Make good use of Information Technology – Girls-in-ICT participants told

Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has urged young ladies participating in the Girls-in-ICT initiative to make good use of the training acquired in the information technology so to broaden the scope to more beneficiaries in their respective communities and regions.

This was made known in a speech read on her behalf by the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitasation, Hon. Ama Pomaa Boateng at the opening ceremony of the 2022 ‘Open Date’ event of the National Girls-in-ICT Day Celebration.

“As we provide you this opportunity to experience a weeklong work-life experience in these enviable institutions and corporations, I encourage you to make the most of it. Give it your very best; strike the right relationships with your mentors. Make a pledge to yourself that in no distant future, you will come back having made a name for yourselves by landing a job in one of these ICT institutions. We are looking up to you to make your families, districts, regions, schools, teachers and Ghana proud” she said.

The Girls in ICT is an initiative by the International Telecommunication Union, ITU and enhanced by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.

It’s aimed at enhancing girls’ skills in the field of Information Communication and Technology.

The ‘open day’ event of weeklong activities is part of initiatives by the Ministry to expose the girls to women mentors in the ICT industry.

Under the theme, Accessing ICT Safety, this year’s event has brought together about 80 participants from four selected regions namely; North East, Oti, Western and Central region respectively.

It is also aimed at bringing together women in the industry to mentor girls in the selected regions.

This year’s mentors from Academia, Health, and Business will use the weeklong occasion to encourage the girls to take advantage of the program to further their education in Computer Science and other ICT education.

The deputy Minister further explained, “This year, we have a target to train 5000 girls and 500 ICT/STEM teachers in 5 regions under the GIIC Initiative. This was the pledge I made at the Climax Event of the GIICT celebration at the Gambaga Girls SHS in North East Region.  In the recent past, the GIICT celebrations have been commemorated under such global themes as “Closing the Digital Divide and Gender Gap” “Expand Horizons, Change Attitudes”, “Connected Girls, Creating Brighter Future” under which some of your trainings were conducted.

She added, “This year, 2022, the global theme for the GIICT Celebration is Access and Safety. Indeed, “Access” is so relevant because, not all our communities have connectivity to access the digital platforms that will support the knowledge acquisition of our girls. To address the access issue in Ghana, the Ministry through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) is implementing the Rural Telephony and Digitalisation Inclusion Project which will construct 2,016 rural sites for voice and data nationwide. Many communities have already benefited and are connected as we speak.

“There are also “Safety” concerns in the digital world, and this is topical on the global agenda. I tis so crucial that we protect our cyber space and citizens as a nation. Unfortunately, ICTs come with risks and opportunities, just like the proverbial saying literally translates ‘the liver comes with the bile’.”