The Africa Code Week, a project by SAP, the market leader in enterprise application software, has been launched in the capital Kigali with the participation of United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Rwandan Ministry of Education as strategic partners.
From PHYLLIS BIRORI in Kigali, Rwanda
KIGALI – AMBITIOUS plans to equip girls and women in the continent with digital skills have received a major boost with the hosting of the first Skills4Girls Africa Meetup in Rwanda.
The event organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with SAP, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and NESCO and the Germany development agency, GIZ, has been held ahead of the Transform Africa Summit in Kigali.
eSkills4Girls Africa Meetup aimed to create a platform for female tech leaders in Africa to share experiences and knowledge, and brought together entrepreneurs, activists and mentors who are involved in initiatives aimed at improving girls’ digital skills and participation in the digital world.
“We need to prepare Africa’s youth to be critical thinkers so they are ready to face the challenges of the future. UNESCO pioneered open educational resources in 2002 with the belief that content and free and open source software should be shared freely,” said Davide Storti, Programme Specialist for the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO.
Birgit Frank, Senior Policy Officer for the Education and Digital World Division at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), there are still huge challenges facing women in Africa’s digital revolution.
Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP, efforts to drive Africa’s digital transformation are best-supported with large-scale skills development and training interventions such as the celebrated Africa Code Week initiative.
This year, SAP and partners aim to train 500 000 African youth.
“By teaching youth basic coding skills, we are tapping into Africa’s most precious resource – its people – and unlocking a new phase of growth and prosperity on the African continent,” Gillisen-Duval said.
The 2017 Africa Code Week initiative will take place across 35 countries
from 18-25 October.
– Guardian
