Girls in ICT project kicks-off in Bono East

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization is rolling-out a comprehensive programme meant to introduce over one thousand basic school female pupils in the Bono East region to basic Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skills, including coding.

The training in coding will give the girls the opportunity to explore the world of technology through the creation of websites, computer games, interactive arts, mobile apps and animation stories, using various programming languages.

Dubbed ‘Girls-in-ICT’, the programme has so far benefitted over 500,000 girls around the world since its inception in 2012 by the International Telecommunications Union to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICT.

SDG 5

The programme, which forms part of strategies to ensure that Ghana achieves the Sustainable Development Goal five and Ghana’s ICT for Accelerated Development policy on bridging the gender digital divide, is being implemented through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications and the National Communications Authority.

Since its inception, the programme has been funded entirely by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, the National Communications Authority and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, with some support from network operators and the American Tower Corporation.

This year’s Girls-In-ICT programme is slated for 11th to 22 April, 2022 on the theme “Access and Safety.”

At a meeting in Techiman to shed more light on the programme, the Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ama Pomaa Boateng, who joined the occasion via zoom, noted that the sustainable development goals cannot be achieved if girls and women are left out of the IT industry.

She said the drive to achieve that inclusiveness is what necessitated the training of these young girls.

Great move

The Bono East Regional Minister, Mr. Kwasi Adu-Gyan, described the move by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization and its partners as timely.

He said many young girls are faced with numerous challenges in the digital environment and hoped that the training programme will also introduce the girls to scratch and basic structures of programming applications, after which they participate in a competition.

This competition, he explained, is expected to test the depth of knowledge and ICT skills acquired during the training period, including website design, development of games, coding and simple ICT applications.