Ursula Owusu-Ekuful
MINISTER FOR Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said Ghana is moving towards a direction where digital skills will be required in all forms of entrepreneurship.
“The direction in which the world is moving demands the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), whatever you want to do, even as a farmer or trader, ICT education is very important. ICT has become an enabler in the new economy, and government is bent on exposing you girls and other young ones to the new trend,” she said.
The Communications Minister said this in her address to female students participating in the Bono Regional Girls in ICT initiative.
The theme for the programme is ‘Access and Safety to Inform the Girls about the Risk of Abusing the Internet’.
One thousand girls are benefiting from the Bono Region’s programme, which is part of government’s quest to bridge the gender gap in technology with support from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication, GIFEC.
Ms. Owusu-Ekuful challenged the participating students to take advantage of the initiative to excel in the field of ICT and science.
Some teachers from the various districts were also trained as part of the initiative to impart the knowledge to other students that may not get the opportunity to participate.
Chairperson of the mentorship programme, Dr. Seyram Blossom Setufe, who is also the Acting Head, Department of Fisheries and Water Resources, School of Natural Resources at the
University of Energy and Natural Resources, also urged the girls to take advantage of the programme to become scientists and IT experts in the future.
“I will like you to pay attention, take note and develop interest in the field of engineering. Let your ears be open for the reason we are here, and have that character and mindset that you can do it as an IT specialist or engineer,” she advised.
Meanwhile, the girls were trained on how to code, creation of websites, computer games, interactive arts, mobile apps, and animation stories using various programming languages.
Also, Dr. Mercy Badu from the Department of Chemistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) taught the girls some tips to learn subjects in science and ICT.
According to her, the women in the field are few, hence there is the need to bridge the gap through the Girls in ICT initiative.
Interestingly, over 60 per cent of the girls trained have no prior knowledge or experience in the use of computers. The Girls in ICT programme, was introduced in 2012 by the International Telecommunications Union to empower and encourage girls and young women to acquire digital skills and consider studies and careers in the growing field of Information and Communications Technology.