Africa Code Week launches in Ghana
ACCRA, (CAJ News) – SOME 150 000 young Ghanaians and 800 teachers are to benefit from a continent-wide initiative to foster digital literacy and equip Africa’s rising generation with job-relevant digital skills.
The 2017 edition of Africa Code Week (ACW) arrived in Ghana this week with a series of Train-The-Trainer (TTT) workshops in the West African country.
Jointly organized by SAP, Dreamoval and the Ghana Education Service in Accra and Kumasi, the workshops are equipping local parents, teachers and educators with the coding skills and teaching material they need to train children and youth in their immediate communities.It will run until October 25.
Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP and Global Lead for ACW, said the initiative’s effectiveness in empowering the next generation of Digital Economy workers in Ghana required knowledgeable instructors who are able to provide mentorship and skills transfer to participating youngsters.
Equally critical to youth empowerment in the digital age are public-private partnerships, as Gillissen-Duval explained.
ACW relies on a fast-growing network of visionary partners, all eager to collaborate to unlock a new world of opportunities for youngsters across the continent.
“Ghana is a striking example of the far-reaching impact of collaboration and leadership on our ability to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.
SAP Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) EMEA together with public and private sector started ACW in 2015 by, with a long-term goal of empowering more than 200 000 teachers and positively impact the lives of 5 million children and youth within the next ten years.
With over 500 000 young Africans introduced to coding across 30 countries so far, ACW key partners (SAP, UNESCO YouthMobile, the Cape Town Science Centre and the Galway Education Centre) have set new ambitious goals for 2017.
They aim to impact the lives of 500 000 youth across 35 African countries over the course from October 18-25.
Ghana joined in 2015, engaging 730 children and youth in the first year.
Last year, the Dreamoval Foundation became the implementing partner for ACW in Ghana.
Some 590 teachers and an astounding 51 710 children and youth were trained in October 2016, 56 percent of which were girls. Dreamoval will be, once again, the Implementing Partner for ACW 2017 in Ghana.
Francis Ahene-Affoh, Head of Business Development and Marketing at Dreamoval Limited, confirmed the aforementioned target.
Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bamumia, and Deputy Minister of Education,Barbara Ayisi Acher, are among dignitaries that attended the launch.
“Africa Code Week is a powerful leverage for the public sector to wide-spread digital literacy on a nation-wide scale,” Bamumia said.
– CAJ News
