The Minister Of Communications And Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says the novel corona virus pandemic that hit Ghana and the world over was a blessing in disguise.
This she said made us realise how pivotal ICT and digital platforms are for continuity, national development and effective functioning of all sectors of our lives.
She argued that the pandemic pushed us to be innovative and led to the realization that, our lives can continue without any hindrance if we have systems in place to ensure access, irrespective of geographical location.
Speaking at the climax of the National Girls-In-ICT Day Celebration, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful explained that some 1000 girls were part of the program but logistical challenges made it impossible for them all to be present physically at the venue.
“Only 400 are here but the rest are joining us virtually. This program is being streamed live through social and virtual platforms such as Facebook, Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Digital tools have become pivotal in the new world that is unfolding before us. We cannot allow our girls and young maidens to be left behind” she stated.
According to the Minister, for the first time in the history of the National GIICT Initiative, this year, the target is to celebrate the GIICT Initiative in five Regions namely: Bono East, Bono, Ahafo, Savannah and Northern Region indicating that in each Region, the objective is to train 1000 young girls and 100 ICT/STEM teachers in basic computing, coding, scratch HTML etc.
She explained “at the end of the year, we would have trained 5000 girls and 500 ICT/STEM teachers. These girls are selected from schools in all districts in the beneficiary regions so every district will feel the impact of these digital maidens.”
The Minister continued: “As I have already stated, 1000 girls and 100 ICT teachers selected from the 11 districts across the region have been trained successfully in basic computer skills and coding. To ensure sustainability and growth, I encourage the RCC to take ownership of this program and develop continuous learning activities that will build on what these girls have been taught over these past few days.”
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful maintained that there is no doubt that digitalisation is the game-changer and with our additional function of “Digitalisation”, we are determined to grow our digital economy at all costs.
“We need to develop and grow the digital literacy and skills of our children for them to become solution providers and innovators able to use technology to solve socio-economic problems. We are hopeful that in time, their innovative solutions will not only have national application but also meet global demand. Our strategy is to catch them young to inculcate the ICTs spirit in them.”
She noted that not all communities have access to internet connectivity and that to address the access issue in Ghana, the Ministry through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) is implementing the Rural Telephony and DigitalisationInclusion Project which will construct 2,016 rural sites for voice and data nationwide in which many communities have already benefited and are connected.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said the opportunities the internet presents are boundless, however there are dangers online.
“Programmes that provide educational resources online may inadvertently create the means for cyberbullying, cyber pornography, sextortion and other kinds of online crimes. The internet comes with risks to the safety and privacy of our young ladies. Sometimes in our exuberance to acquire knowledge, we may expose our personal and sensitive data to commercial or other forms of exploitation online” she stated.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful added: “we want to partner parents, guardians, teachers, faith-based organizations to support in guiding our young ones on the ‘Dos and Don’ts in the use of online tools to develop their career paths to contribute to national development. We all need to learn safe ways of navigating the internet so we can teach others. With our collective efforts, we can ensure our girls and young children/adults stay safe online.’’
The Girls-In-ICT Initiative was adopted in 2012 by Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as part of measures to bridge the Gender Digital Divide existing in the ICT sector worldwide.
The Initiative was also to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals goals 4 (Quality Education) and 5 (Gender Equality).
Students who have excelled will receive among other exciting awards laptops with the best 3 receiving a cash award and other incentives, special awards for a special girl and top 20 girls will have Cyber labs built and equipped in the schools.
Source: By Kofi Yirenkyi