By Hlordzie Mawuena Jessica
The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who also serves as a women’s rights activist, visited the training centres of the Girls-In-ICT ongoing program in the Eastern Region of Ghana on Friday, 27th October, 2023, to encourage girls to develop their digital and STEM skills.
The places that were toured comprised Aburi Girls Senior High School (SHS), Mampong Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS), Koforidua Regional Library, Koforidua Ghana Secondary School, the e-Transform Project, Aburi Presbyterian Secondary Technical School, and Koforidua SDA Senior High School (SHS).
With the program’s aim to bridge the gender gap in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and increase girls’ interest in ICT in the country, Hon. Owusu-Ekuful expressed her satisfaction as she was wowed by the improvement of the beneficiaries as they displayed their knowledge in coding, scribe cybersecurity, website development, games creation, among others, as a result of what they learned during the Girls-In-ICT program.
The Minister observed the importance of demystifying ICT for women and creating opportunities for girls to acquire digital skills.
She told girls in the various schools: “Be obedient to your parents and let them know where your interest lies. Once you choose your path in life, work hard and you will excel. The way society has evolved, we seem to behave as if anything technical, engineering, digital, mechanical, science and mathematics is a male thing, so women can not excel in it. There is a huge gap between women and men in ICT. Thankfully it is changing”.
Hon. Owusu-Ekuful , unable to conceal her happiness, informed reporters that there are ongoing efforts to establish ICT centers in both junior and senior high schools to facilitate students’ access to knowledge.
Furthermore, she revealed that steps are being taken to provide each junior and senior high school student with a personal laptop.
In response, the students expressed their delight and gratitude to the Minister for this ground-breaking initiative. They pledged to utilize their newfound knowledge effectively and share it with their peers.
AP&P reports that approximately 15 junior high school students from 15 different primary schools in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region have been chosen in groups to participate in the Girls-in-ICT program.
The Girls in ICT program, introduced in 2012, aims to empower girls and young women in the field of ICT. Over 500,000 girls have already benefited from this initiative.
Source: Africa Publicity
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