The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), in partnership with the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH), celebrated the Coding Caravan 2023 event under the theme “Digital Skills for Life” in honour of International Girls in ICT Day.
The Coding Caravan is an initiative aimed at promoting ICT and STEM education among young children by highlighting its benefits. Mrs Esther Quaye-Sowah, Director of Education for Birim Central Municipality, addressed the session and expressed their commitment to collaborating with organizations that promote the competencies of girls in STEM.
She stressed the significance of ICT as an integral part of STEM and informed that 200 girls from various schools were selected to participate in the activity.
“The entire world is seeking to embrace transformation to better their socio-economic development through STEM education, and Ghana cannot be left behind,” she said.
The Ministry of Communication and Digitization is spearheading the coding caravan initiative to accelerate Ghana's digitization efforts in the field of STEM education, with a specific focus on girls.
According to Mrs Quaye-Sowah, this initiative has the potential to help reduce gender disparity in Ghanaian society. She encouraged young girls and participants to work hard to acquire the necessary skills that would help address current social problems and create job opportunities for women in the technology sector.
Mrs Ruth Kyere Fekaah, Deputy Director of Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization, spoke on behalf of Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister, and announced that the ministry aims to provide basic computer literacy training to 5,000 girls by the end of 2023.
She further emphasized the importance of girls and women taking advantage of the rapid pace of ICT innovation by pursuing careers in ICT, which is why the ministry launched the Girls in ICT project to foster their interest in ICT education.
Additionally, the ministry is developing a rural telephone and digital inclusion initiative that aims to connect three million Ghanaians.
Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, emphasized the significance of starting the Coding Caravan, an initiative that teaches young people how to use ICT to tackle social challenges.
He noted that the participation of women in ICT in the country is relatively low and stressed the importance of engaging girls from an early age to bridge the gender gap in the ICT field.
He encouraged primary school students to seize the opportunity to use ICT tools in a fair and beneficial manner while avoiding the negative effects associated with ICT.
Mr Ashigbey called on societies to invest in ICT education to find solutions to the current challenges. Mrs Juliana Ametorwogo, Women's Lead for the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, stated that the Coding Caravan 2023 aims to spark the interest of young children at an early age.
She mentioned that the IIPGH is partnering with Vodafone Ghana to teach coding to over a thousand girls throughout the year, with the goal of increasing awareness and education about ICT and STEM.
The IIPGH has taken various initiatives to contribute to ICT education, but it believes that providing ICT education to every Ghanaian is a significant responsibility.