By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, July 17, GNA – The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has begun training 1,000 girls in basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills in the Northern Region as part of the Girls-in -ICT programme.
The training, which starts on Monday, is expected to train the participants in coding, cyber security, and website development.
The girls were selected from all the 16 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the region including Mion, Karaga, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu, Kpandai, Gushegu, Tatali-Sangule, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba and Zabzugu.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Monday.
The Girls-In-ICT programme was introduced 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 ICTs.
The statement said: “The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, under the stewardship of Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, since 2017, adopted the initiative as a platform to equip girls between the ages of nine and 15 years (Upper Primary to Junior High School) with knowledge and skills in basic ICT and coding.
“The Girls-In-ICT programme is all about breaking the myth around women involving themselves in ICT,” the statement added.
The programme is implemented with support from Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications as the technical resource provider, with training by Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (KACE) as well as supported by MTN Ghana, National Communications Authority, American Towers Company, Ministry of Education, GIZ amongst others.
The selected girls, the statement indicated, would be divided into two groups to undergo the training within a five-day period each (From July 17 to July 29) in their districts where they would explore the world of technology through the creation of websites, computer games and animation stories using Scratch.
“After the training, the girls will partake in District and Regional level competitions in ICT, as well as a mentorship and climax session from July 31 to August 01, where the best 100 girls to emerge out of the competition, will be given awards (laptops and certificates),” the statement added.
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has already trained 100 teachers from all the districts in the region to equip them with relevant ICT skills to enable them to train the girls in the region as part of the Girls-in-ICT Programme.
The statement said after the climax, an Open Day experience would be held where the best 100 girls would be sent to Accra for a week to tour the offices of Mobile Network Operators, Companies in the ICTs industry, selected Agencies of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to interact, especially with women in the industry.
It mentioned some achievements under the programme from 2017 to 2022 saying “8,000 girls have been trained and mentored (Ashanti, Western, Central, Oti, Western North, North East, Bono, Bono-East and Ahafo, 800 teachers trained to train more girls in ICT beyond the programme, 43 cyber laboratories have been set up with 120 more being set up this year, and 1,267 laptops given to teachers and top-performing girls.”
It said this year, the Ministry targeted 5,000 girls and 500 teachers from five regions including Savannah, Northern, Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra to benefit from the Girls-in-ICT programme with Savannah Region already benefiting from the programme in May, this year.
GNA