The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) has launched a two-day Mentorship and Climax session, to end its 10-day National Girls-in-ICT programme, themed, “Leadership.”
The Mentorship session, held on Tuesday, 9th July, 2024 was held at the University of Ghana’s Cedi Conference Centre, where prominent female tech leaders shared their experiences to inspire the girls selected for the program.
Chairing the event was Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, an Associate Professor and founding Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana, who encouraged the participants to seize opportunities, emphasizing that, “No experience is ever waste,” and that the skills learnt can be applied in various future endeavors.
Among the notable speakers were Dr. Nanayaa Tina Owusu Prempeh, Board Chair of the Ghana Domain Name Registry, and Dr. Owusu Prempeh, the first woman in Ghana to own an internet company, among others. Sharing their experience in the industry, these personalities urged the students to delve deeper into IT studies.
The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, whose foundation developed the Girls-in-ICT programme, stated that the initiative is designed to empower young women to pursue ICT education and careers. She was working for large numbers of persons with disabilities to also be included in the digital training.
This programme, since its introduction by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in 2012, has trained nearly 13,000 young girls in the usage of digital tools.
The climax, which will be held on Wednesday, 10th July, will see awards presented to the top 100 performing girls out of the 1,000 who partook in the Girls-in-ICT Greater Accra Regional Competition during the weekend, the distribution of certificates to all participants, and remarks by coaches and mentors.
The top performers will receive prizes such as laptops, modems, and cash awards. ICT labs will also be established in the schools of the 10 best-performing students, in addition to them receiving laptops.
The 2024 edition of the Girls in ICT programme was executed in collaboration with the National Communications Authority, Ghana Education Service, Vodafone, and MTN who trained 3,000 girls and 300 teachers across three regions.
By Ruth Sekyi – Digital Economy Magazine
