Christiana Wehle Awiah, winner of Girls In ICT Northern region
14-year-old, Christiana Wehle Awiah, a Junior High School 2 pupil of St. Paul’s Catholic school in Tamale, has emerged as one the best pupils of the Girls In ICT program held in Tamale in the Northern region.
She was awarded a cash prize of Gh 3,000.00, a laptop, a plaque, and an ICT lab which will be built for her school.
Two other pupils who placed second and third received special plaques, a cash prize of GHS 2,000.00, and an ICT lab for their school as part of the awards.
Christiana Wehle Awiah thanked the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful for giving her such an opportunity to enhance her education adding that she and her colleagues learned of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and its related careers and behalf of her colleagues assured that they will take up STEM-related careers.
About 1000 girls were trained in basic Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) skills, coding, cyber security, and website development under the Girls-In-ICT programme.
The beneficiary Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are Mion, Karaga, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu, Kpandai, Gushegu, Tatali, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba, and Zabzugu.
The Girls-In-ICT programme was introduced in 2012 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICT.
The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, at the climax of the Northern Region edition of the Girls-In-ICT program, said the best 100 girls from every region will be sent to Accra to interact with women in technology at their workplaces for a week so that they can inspire their colleagues when they go back to the home regions.
According to her, Ghana is moving from a manual economy to a digitalized economy and the government is developing digitalize skills to create the right environment to train more girls in digital skills and equip them to operate in the fast-emerging digitalized economy.
She indicated that the Girls In ICT program will encourage girls to embrace ICT, expose them to career opportunities, and inspire girls to take up courses in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful disclosed that since 2012, 11,981 girls and 1,200 teachers have benefited from the Girls In ICT program.
“ We are sowing seeds for the future which we hope you bear good fruits for the development of these girls, their families, communities, and the nation as a whole.”
The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, appealed for more sponsors and partners to continue to impact the lives of young digital girls in the country.
BY Eric Kombat, Tamale