Some dignitaries at the programme
The Ministry of Communications has held an Open Day for girls in Information Communications Technology (ICT).
The event, which was held at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre on Monday, brought together female students from various schools in the Greater Accra Region.
Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said the Open Day initiative had been celebrated annually in Ghana since 2012 as part of the ITU activities aimed at narrowing the gender digital gap and added that it had been improving since 2018.
She stated that government wanted to empower girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICT, enabling both girls and technology companies to reap the benefits of greater female participation in the ICT sector.
She said the Open Day had provided an opportunity for young ladies in Ghana to touch and feel ICT and demystify it; she encouraged them to consider a future in technology.
The minister said that there was also a yawning gap between the digital skills needed by industry and the number of job seekers with the required technical knowhow, adding “the opportunities available for highly qualified women in technical fields are enormous and rewarding.”
“Ghana cannot achieve Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5 and 10 aimed at reducing poverty, achieving gender equality and reducing inequalities if there is no conscious and deliberate approach to encourage more girls and women to take up leadership roles in the ICT industry,” she pointed out.
Ghana joined the ITU Girls-In-ICT initiative to implement activities to bridge the digital gender divide and encourage the training and education of girls to expand the opportunities available to the girl-child and women in this sector.
The Open Day programme has been celebrated in the Greater Accra, Volta, Eastern, Northern, Bono and Ashanti regions, with over 4,000 girls from selected basic schools participating in this initiative in Ghana.
BY Melvin Tarlue