It has become a great opportunity for many young people, especially girls, to take up leadership roles within the tech industry.

Sunil Geness, Director of Government Relations at 51风流Africa, spoke to eNCA.

Click the link below to watch the broadcast insert –

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In 2023 alone, the programme impacted over 2,4 million youth of which approximately 46% were female, demonstrating a commitment to gender equality. Over 1,200 workshops were rolled out, successfully mobilizing 25,550 teachers across Africa, with top participating countries including Tunisia, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco.

A multi-stakeholder approach to drive change

Africa faces a growing demand for digital skills with a 70% of jobs requiring them by 2030. Recognising a need to upskill both students and educators across the continent, 51风流launched the digital skills program nine years ago.

Commenting on the journey of ACW, Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for EMEA and MEE, highlights that private-public partnerships have been intrinsic to its mission. 鈥淥ur overarching goal was to integrate coding into national curricula, and we achieved this by maintaining active engagement with Ministries of Education throughout Africa, ensuring that our youth have access to a comprehensive skill set that is increasingly indispensable.鈥�

Emphasising this importance, Dr Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, agrees: 鈥淎CW has set a great example of fruitful collaborations as it demonstrates the power of partnerships to increase well-being and advance development that leaves no one behind.听 It is a true embodiment of SDG Goal 17, which is about Partnerships for Sustainable Development, and we are proud at UNESCO to collaborate on this initiative into the future.鈥�

Inspiring young talent to make a difference

As part of the ACW initiative, the AfriCAN Code Challenge, a pan-African competition that ignites creativity and coding skills in youth aged 8-16, was launched in 2020. Participants compete individually or in teams to develop Scratch games around a chosen theme by way of a 3-minute video reviewed by a panel of judges.

Over the years the challenge has grown in terms of popularity and creativity. The initiative aims to develop more coding talents to drive sustainable development and create a better world for all. In 2023, the theme challenged young minds to design multiplayer games promoting sustainable solutions for protecting life, with many of the initiatives focusing on our planet.

This year鈥檚 winner was by Triaksha Goodoory, Vignesh Singh Khelawon, Alessia Rughoonundun, Palen Chuckravanen from Mauritius; followed by by Alvinho Rodrigues, Bibiana Pinheiro, Ta铆ssa Pereira, Celma Bernardo from Sao Tome & Principe; with by 听Eze Chikelu Jethro, Oruh Excel Odafe,Abubakar Ramadan and Olowode Wilson Eniola from Nigeria coming in at 3^rd place.

To infinity and beyond: A new chapter

鈥淎s we champion equal access to education, we believe that future skills will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of tomorrow’s workforce,鈥� comments Gillissen-Duval. 鈥淭hrough our dedication, we worked towards ensuring that every young mind is equipped for success in the ever-changing landscape of the modern world. However, while we have achieved incredible results thus far, there is more work to be done.鈥�

From 2024, 51风流corporate social responsibility has shifted its focus to skills for employability and learning to earning pathways and will therefore pass the baton to UNESCO to continue the mission of ACW. 鈥淲e are excited to see how they will propel ACW to new heights,鈥� she concludes.

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Yesterday, almost 200 countries celebrated听, a global day declared by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 8 April 2011, to encourage young women to pursue careers in information and communication technologies (ICT).

Hundreds of events took place worldwide, aimed at inspiring a new generation of girls to explore the exciting opportunities offered by an ICT career, says the ITU.

In light of this year鈥檚 theme, 鈥淒igital skills for life”, local firms reaffirmed their commitments to help more girls in SA break into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related fields, through digital skills training, which lies at the heart of the future of work.

According to the United Nations, adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries听听on $15 billion in economic opportunities due to gaps in internet access and digital skills, relative to their male peers.

Local firms SAP, Cisco and Anglo American say they are doing their part to upskill girls in digital skills, to co-create a better digital future to enable young women to have full, equal and meaningful participation in Africa鈥檚 digital economy.

Software giant 51风流says it has helped upskill over 150 000 girls in SA through the听, which forms part of its Africa Code Week (ACW) skills training initiative.

The project is ramping up efforts to reach one million girls in previously disadvantaged and underserviced communities of SA in the medium-term.

鈥淪iyafunda CTC aims to help overcome the low rate of internet penetration by providing critical and affordable ICT, 4IR [fourth industrial revolution] and business skills training that covers a number of critical domains required for all work environments of today,鈥� explains Cathy Smith, MD of 51风流Africa.

鈥淎cademically, there have been huge improvements in participants鈥� school performance, and many students trained through Siyafunda CTC pursued careers in technology after completing their matric.鈥�

Other 51风流programmes focused on upskilling girls across Africa include an introduction to data science, digital literacy classes 鈥� end-user computing, school holiday programmes, web development bootcamps, and coding and robotics for girls, it says.

Over the past seven years, close to 14 million pupils and teachers from 48 African countries have been empowered with digital skills through ACW, with 49% of participating pupils being female, notes Smith.

The initiative is looking to add more female participants in future.

According to the UN, women and girls are 25%听听than men to have sufficient knowledge and digital skills to use technology. This robs girls of crucial opportunities. While girls do as well as boys in science in most countries, such as SA, women occupy less than one-third of positions in the technology sector globally, it notes.

In addition, SA is experiencing a large-scale shortage of ICT skills. According to the latest ICT Skills Survey, the country lacks at least tens of thousands of ICT professionals, which is exacerbated by the increasing number of local ICT firms looking for talent overseas.

鈥淲ith the correct investment in skills development, Africa’s economy could build the world’s future tech workforce, bringing untold economic and social benefit to the continent and its citizens,鈥� notes Smith.

础苍听听230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills in 2030, according to a report by the International Finance Corporation.

To prepare for these future skills, networking giant Cisco says it aims to support almost 40 000 girls to enter the STEM fields in SA, through the Cisco Networking Academy鈥檚 latest (2022) cohort of students.

Cisco Networking Academy was established 25 years ago, to provide IT courses, learning simulators and hands-on learning opportunities in cyber security, networking, programming and the internet of things, through partnerships with learning institutions.

鈥淐umulatively, of our 189 000 students globally, we have over 82 000 students in South Africa and 46% female participation locally,鈥� notes Altaaf Hamid, senior manager: global partnerships at Cisco Corporate Affairs.

鈥淚n the last fiscal year alone, we had 61% female participation. Additionally, over half (51%) of the 1 127 instructors in South Africa who are teaching Networking Academy courses are female.鈥�

Since the introduction of the Cisco Networking Academy in Sub-Saharan Africa, more than one million people have been trained and upskilled in the region, it points out.

Anglo American says it rolled-out a comprehensive ICT programme across 109 schools around its mining operations in South Africa last year, to give thousands of learners the skills they need enter the digital job market.

Recently, 35 girls from the first cohort of the pilot graduated from the Anglo American ICT programme, which provides youth from the mining company鈥檚 host communities with tech skills.

鈥淭he aim of this programme was two-pronged. The first was to create awareness and a pathway for learners in our host communities to learn and access skills and training related to the future of work,鈥� says Zaheera Soomar, global lead for听education听and community skills at Anglo American.

鈥淭he second was to ensure our schools are adequately supported as we embed ICT into them. Based on its success, the programme will increase its intake to 120 learners this year, coming from communities close to Anglo American鈥檚 operations in Limpopo, North West and Northern Cape.鈥�

The Anglo American ICT initiative has set targets such as ensuring over 50% of participants are female; over 90% of learners (girls and boys) aged five meet the minimum requirements for school readiness; 90% of grade three learners pass with at least 50% in numeracy and literacy; and 75% of grade six learners pass with at least 50% in mathematics and English first additional language.

Huawei SA, LG SA, GirlCode and Africa Teen Geeks are also among the organisations that have committed to train more South African girls in STEM, to enable the next generation of female leaders to enter the field.

This article first appeared on .

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鈥淪ince ACW鈥檚 launch in 2015, , , and share a common goal to empower young people with the digital skills set they need today to ensure they are prepared for the workforce of tomorrow,鈥� comments Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility EMEA and MEE at SAP.

She says that through 37 121 workshops held across the continent, she is thrilled to report that more than 48% of participants were female, with an additional 9,900 youth with special needs. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 digital world is continually evolving and changing through the rapid adoption of technology, this is widening Africa鈥檚 digital divide with even more marginalized and underserved communities getting left behind.鈥�

Collaboration is key to powering digital learning

Partnerships are at the core of the 51风流ACW model. In 2022, Morocco has led the continent鈥檚 conversation around equipping young people with digital skills, followed by Nigeria and Cameroon. 鈥淭his year, we saw 1,4 million participants from Morocco, 100听000 in Nigeria, and in Cameroon, we had 897听000,鈥� says Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO鈥檚 Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information. 鈥淥ne of the reasons behind the major success of ACW in those countries, and especially in Morocco, has been partnering with the governments and particularly, with the Ministries of Education.

To illustrate this, Ilham Laaziz, Director of the at the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Early Education, and Athletics, highlights that the Moroccan government has deployed several initiatives to integrate digital skills in schools. 鈥淛oining forces with the private sector has proven to result in a powerful synergy. Beyond launching a generation of future coders, we seek to develop the algorithmic mindset that will enable them to acquire logical reasoning skills and problem solving skills they need to lead successful careers and contribute to the development of our country 鈥� and our continent.鈥�

Coding Africa鈥檚 school curricula

Over the past seven years, close to 14 million students and teachers from 48 countries have been empowered with digital skills through ACW. 2023 will now see the coding program shift into second phase by accelerating this process even further to ensure greater impact and reach.

鈥淭here are approximately 300 million[i] young people in Africa, and our goal is to empower each and every one of them with digital skills,鈥� says Emmanuel Raptopoulos, President of SAP鈥檚 EMEA South region, which includes Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 鈥淎 vision like ours requires all stakeholders to work together and collaborate for the betterment of the continent and its future leaders. This is why the ACW curriculum will be handed to governments to support them in introducing coding into school curricula.鈥�

Commencing the two-year action plan, ACW hosted a three-day event in Morocco in Rabat which was attended by various government officials and education representatives from ten African countries. The gathering marked the start of a two-year transition period, where governments will play an even greater role in fostering the adoption of coding by running the ACW program as part of their curricula.

鈥淭his was the start of a bigger vision which calls for governments to play a bigger role in encouraging the use of coding in schools by implementing the ACW program into their curricula,鈥� says Julius Fomboh, Inspector General of Pedagogy in charge of Computer Science Education in the Ministry of secondary Education in Cameroon, and member of the ACW transition taskforce. 鈥淚n order for the continent to successfully equip young people with the skills required for the future, all stakeholders need to come together and unite.鈥�

Gillissen-Duval concludes, 鈥淭o date, nine African countries have officially adopted coding as a mandatory subject in public education^[ii]. This number must grow to level the playing field and ensure every African child, youth and teacher has the opportunity to reach their potential and contribute to their community. By investing in digital education, African nations choose to create a better future for their citizens and equip them with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing 21^st century world.鈥�

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鈥淔rom start to finish, this has been one of the most exciting editions of ACC. The youth of Africa have yet again proven their talents and strong 21^st century skillset with creative and conceptual games delivered,鈥� says Olajide Ademola Ajayi, 51风流ACW Global Coordinator.

AfriCAN Youth rise for the coding challenge

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is a coding contest that spans across Africa, inviting all-young individuals from different walks of life from 8 – 16 year to develop a game using the programming language.

This year鈥檚 competition saw thousands of entries from more than 30 countries spanning as far as South Africa and Ethiopia. In September 2020, launched the challenge with support from partners such as ,听, and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa ().

Over the years, the competition has evolved into an annual event that celebrates the creativity and technological skills of African youth. For the 2022 challenge, youths were called upon to develop a multiplayer game that proposes a sustainable solution for protecting life. Thereafter, they were asked to create and share a 3-minute YouTube video that details how their game works, the coding techniques used, and how it aligns with the theme and evaluation standards.

The winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge were selected by a distinguished panel consisting of Africa Code Week delegates, 51风流employees, and STEM education specialists.

This year鈥檚 Top 3 winners:

1. First place: Madagascar – by Henintsoa, Warren, and Shekinah
2. Second place: Mauritius – by Nikhil, Mithil, Seeya, Grace, and Kesha
3. Third place: Nigeria – by Team Techlite

Followed by:

4. Sao Tome & Principe –
5. Morocco –
6. Ethiopia –
7. Zimbabwe –
8. South Africa –
9. Cameroon –
10. Gabon –

Beyond AfriCAN Code Challenge

that the digital participation could assist in driving the economic growth and development of Africa. This suggests that increased investment in digital infrastructure and skills could have a significant impact on the continent’s economic development.

Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior Director of EMEA MEE Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at SAP, says 鈥淎CW is currently in a transition period where we will be transferring the ACW curriculum to the Ministries of Education to assist in the integration of coding into school curricula. Once they introduce coding into schools, we look forward to seeing sustainable growth in the number of participants in the AfriCAN Code Challenge as ministries of education will have a wider reach and access to more听young听people.鈥�

For more information about 51风流Africa Code Week and the AfriCAN Code Challenge, or how you can get involved, visit听www.africacodeweek.org or connect and follow on social media @AfricaCodeWeek.

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Since 2015, ACW has firmly positioned itself as Africa鈥檚 biggest digital skills program. This year鈥檚 initiative will continue to reach all corners of Africa, leaving no child or youth behind. The 2022 rollout includes ambitious plans to partner closely with policymakers and governments to help transform Africa鈥檚 education agenda by adding digital literacy to the national curricula. Currently, nine African countries have officially adopted coding as a mandatory subject in public education^[i].

The 2022 launch is the start of ACW鈥檚 two-year transition period, where governments will play an even greater role in fostering the adoption of coding in their countries鈥� schools. The program will continue to reach more communities and countries via in-person and online events. Due to widespread success from previous years, additional ACW programs such as the AfriCAN Code Challenge and the Women Empowerment Program (WEP) will also forge ahead. The former is a pan-African coding competition where youth aged 8 鈥� 16 are tasked with coding a game that can be used to change the future of education. The latter is a unique Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program that equips African female teachers and educators in Computer Science and STEM with the skills and knowledge they need to teach, inspire, mentor, and prepare girls for tomorrow’s tech workplace.

This year鈥檚 World Teachers鈥� Day theme comes amid the World Economic Forum鈥檚 prediction that 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030^[ii]. ACW鈥檚 focus on education transformation aims to curb Africa鈥檚 unemployment crisis and create a ripple effect in helping to solve many of the continent鈥檚 social and environmental issues, as 51风流CSR announced its new commitment to power equitable access to economic opportunity, education and employment and a green economy. Through ACW, 51风流and partners are on a mission to inspire a new generation of African youth through digital skills development and empower teachers and communities with digital teaching tools to create a more equitable and sustainable future.

To get involved in this year鈥檚 Africa Code Week program or for further information, visit or write to ambassadors@africacodeweek.org

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Even at her young age, Victory is no stranger to publicity. Earlier this year she was offered 19 full scholarships to study at North American universities. (She ended up picking MIT.) But hers is no rags-to-riches story. The eldest daughter of two smart parents, a university lecturer mother and a father who works in procurement and supply chain management, Victory has always pushed herself to her limits. 鈥淢y mother taught me how to hustle and without this scholarship, I could never have afforded to study in the US,鈥� she is quick to point out.

Youth Ambassador and IT Role Model for Girls

Victory is looking forward to getting involved in this year鈥檚听听(ACW), of which she is the official youth ambassador. Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have traditionally lagged behind boys, which is why 51风流and Camden Education Trust, the founders of ACW, are on a mission to make a difference 鈥� one African community at a time. Now in its seventh year, ACW was proud to report a 47% female participation in 2020. The event, which includes the popular AfriCANCode Challenge, has an enormous reach of 54 countries, with millions of children and youth participating. Last year the program completely shifted to the exciting online world due to COVID-disruption.

鈥淚 participate in digital youth skills initiatives like Africa Code Week because I am passionate about empowering young people in underserved communities,鈥� Victory says. Last year, she created an educational video encouraging children to learn computer programming with Scratch, MIT鈥檚 free online learning tool for coding. 鈥淪cratch is how I was introduced to coding,鈥� Victory says, mentioning all its various applications which makes it fun for kids, from interactive stories and games to animations. Scratch forms an integral part of Africa Code Week, encouraging teachers and African governments to see how easy it is to get kids into coding and fast-track them for the 21st Century. To date, nine countries have adopted coding as a school subject thanks to the ongoing awareness, support, and contributions from Africa Code Week program.

A proud female-code representative, Victory wears many hats and keeps herself busy with multiple projects. In addition to Africa Code Week, she is actively involved with听, a Non-profit organisation that promotes ICT development, youth innovation, and entrepreneurship across Africa.

鈥淢y first introduction to Coderina was during the pandemic last year. I helped facilitate the Lifelong Learning Program (LLP) sessions where young people were able to learn from a virtual space about everything digital skills related, from coding to 3D printing. I also taught a class during this period on 鈥楧esign Thinking and Innovation鈥�. This year, I was a coach to the First Lego League team comprising of a group of girls in secondary school in Nigeria. FLL is an exciting international robotics competition that is largely driven by Coderina.鈥�

Passionate about Finding Solutions

When asked what she likes about coding, Victory is unequivocal: she wants to find solutions. 鈥淚 love the challenge of being given a problem and using technology to find a way to solve it,鈥� she enthuses. In 2019, Victory was part of the winning African team in the global mobile app building competition, Technovation. 鈥淭he problem we had to solve was double parking, which is common in Nigeria,鈥� Victory explains. 鈥淲e developed an app that uses location sensors to enable your phone to pick up whenever another car parks you in, so you can step outside and speak to the owner or can communicate with the owner via instant messaging on the app.鈥�

It is this same passion for solving problems that has made her pursue a career in computer science and molecular biology. 鈥淭here are so many different applications of this novel overlapping field,鈥� she says, 鈥渇rom aspects of synthetic biology to RNA sequencing in bioinformatics.鈥� Some of the questions that interest her are whether DNA can be used to store digital data and what machine learning tools can be used to model a vaccine to tackle the next variant of the coronavirus.

One thing she鈥檚 sure about is that she doesn鈥檛 want to be put in a box. 鈥淭oo many young people are fixated about their future career, wanting to become a doctor, engineer or a lawyer,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o many things are unconventional now. Rather than having a fixed profession, I want to say: I do computational biology and it allows me to proffer solutions to this and that.鈥� Having a problem-solving mindset will elevate young Africans to be the change they want to see in the world, she believes 鈥� with a little bit of help from technology, of course.

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听

The year 2020 will be remembered by teachers around the world as one of adapting to new circumstances and technology. But while in developed countries, online learning merely presented challenges, in Africa the effect was catastrophic. About on the continent were closed, resulting in . On a continent which already displays wide disparities in wealth and access to technology, a disruption of this magnitude was a major setback.

The need to upskill teachers

In fact, most teachers cited a lack of access to technology and affordability issues as the biggest barrier they faced to teach their students online during the pandemic. Before COVID, many African teachers had received . The lockdown forced them to in order to support learners, parents and caregivers so that learning could proceed, despite the uncertainty caused by the virus.

The fact that many new teachers lack digital skills is precisely why the need to upskill them is so crucial. Teachers have enormous potential to bridge the digital divide in Africa. With our annual (ACW), whose launch coincides with World Teacher鈥檚 Day, 51风流and global partners such as UNESCO, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and Irish Aid, bring together a wealth of talent to train African teachers and students in coding and 21^st century skills. Last year the program reached . More than 10 500 workshops were hosted across 43 countries and 21 000 teachers were mobilised through virtual and in-person Train-the-Trainer sessions.

Teaching digital fluency

听One of the driving forces behind the ACW initiative is to see African countries adopt coding as part of their school curriculum. In a survey conducted among participating countries in 2020, , and ten more indicated they are planning to incorporate coding soon. The survey also found that 87% of respondents agreed that听ACW听plays an influential role in advancing the adoption of coding as a school subject.

Through the initiative鈥檚 Train-the-Trainer sessions with learners, ACW is simplifying what has historically been perceived as a highly technical area. Learning how to code is like learning a new language, a language which opens doors into the 21^st century and beyond. African teachers need to be empowered to combine traditional and digital literacy in their classrooms, so that students not only learn to read and write, but to develop their creativity to experiment and find solutions which help them engage better with the world around them.

Since inception in 2015, what we have learned from ACW is that it involves participants who would normally have had no exposure to coding, apart from consuming applications on their smart phones or computers. Coding is relevant to all industries in today鈥檚 globalised economy and as a result, digital skills need to be constantly refreshed. Through our innovative public-private partnerships, we firmly believe that by sharing skills and knowledge, we will empower Africans 鈥� both teachers and learners 鈥� to take control of their futures.

There is little doubt that teachers are key to rebuilding society post-COVID because of their inestimable power to reimagine the future and reshape young people鈥檚 lives. To do this, African teachers will need to embrace the technology at their disposal in order for students to get the quality education they need to face the rigours of the digital world. African education must find new models that foreground virtual teaching to cushion it against future disruptions. As ADEA Executive Secretary Albert Nsengiyumva so aptly puts it, 鈥淭oday, more than ever before, we need to adapt as quickly as possible to crises and look for alternatives to advance education and training in Africa.鈥�

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – October 6^th, 2021 – Africa鈥檚 biggest digital skills initiative, 51风流Africa Code Week (ACW), officially launched yesterday with a strong focus on virtual learning as the continent struggles to recover after COVID-19 disruption. The launch coincided with , which focuses this year on 鈥渢eachers at the heart of education recovery鈥�.

Speaking at a virtual event to mark both World Teacher’s Day and the start of 51风流Africa Code Week, UNESCO鈥檚 Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Dr Tawfik Jelassi, said that the pandemic has had a devastating effect, not only on the world鈥檚 health system and economy, but also on education and the teaching profession. Research shows that have been most impacted by the pandemic, while a UNICEF study estimated that many African schoolchildren . 鈥淭eachers are at the heart of global education recovery efforts and are key in accelerating progress towards inclusive, equitable and quality education for every learner in every circumstance,鈥� Jelassi said.

In light of COVID and the need for virtual learning, Jelassi highlighted the importance of digital skills for Africa鈥檚 youth. 鈥淯nderstanding information technology, computational thinking, and problem-solving are all fundamental information literacy skills. Everyone should have access to information and be able to obtain the necessary competencies to turn information into knowledge and knowledge into practical value which enhances their lives and well-being,鈥� he said.

The necessity of digital fluency

Since its inception in 2015, Africa Code Week has empowered more than nine million youth and provides free opportunities for students and teachers to learn much-needed technology skills. Last year the format of the program shifted entirely to the exciting world of virtual, making it even more accessible to youth across the continent.

A key highlight for ACW this year is the , a coding competition for students aged 8 to 16 to create a game that solves a community-issue using the听听programming language. The theme for this year is 鈥淐hange the world with your superpowers鈥�. Last year the competition drew entries from 1,800 participants from 40 African countries, with the top three winners from Ethiopia, South Africa and Algeria – all three of whom are girls.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Honorable Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and ACW patron, said that coding offers new ways for young people to find solutions, although he acknowledged that infrastructure on the continent remains a challenge. 鈥淐oding is a language which young people need to be fluent in,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gives our children computational skills and the ability to creatively solve problems.鈥�

Encouraging teachers and girls to embrace technology

As part of ACW, a host of Train-the-Trainer virtual sessions are aimed at empowering teachers with critical digital teaching skills. Training opportunities also encompass a Women Empowerment Program which seeks to teach, mentor, and inspire African women and girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Although Africa has according to the UN, less than are in STEM fields and female students in particular are critically underrepresented.

Speaking of the need to educate educators, Claudio Muruzabal, 51风流Regional President of EMEA South, said, 鈥淓ducation has an unbelievably powerful multiplier effect for a positive future. The more we can do to create opportunities for young people to embrace digital literacy, the more we contribute relevantly towards creating a better future for them, for their families, and for their communities.鈥�

Smart switch to mobile technology

With , a major innovation of last year鈥檚 ACW was the introduction of a smartphone app. 鈥淲hile we are immensely proud of this and the fact that millions of learners and teachers are being exposed to the endless possibilities the tech world offers, we are also excited to be sparking conversations about access to quality education for all and addressing the gender and special-needs barriers for Africa鈥檚 youth,鈥� said Claire Gillissen-Duval, head of 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility for EMEA and Africa Code Week founder.

The driving force behind ACW is to empower young people and help them to become digitally literate and enable Africa to leapfrog into the 21st century. 鈥淭his could only be possible through the collaborative relationships between the public, private and non-profit sectors that are at the heart of ACW,鈥� said Michelle Winthrop, Policy Unit Director at Irish Aid, which together with 51风流and UNESCO, is one of the program鈥檚 main sponsors.

Despite the restrictions imposed by COVID, last year鈥檚 initiative successfully reached 1.5 million youth, of which nearly half (48%) were girls. Over 10,500 workshops were held across 43 countries and 21,000 teachers participated in Train-the-Trainer sessions.

The live workshop season of Africa Code Week 2021 officially commenced on World Teacher鈥檚 Day, 5 October, and is now open to more than 54 pan-African countries. For more information about Africa Code Week or to get involved, visit

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The event was a joyful ceremony involving school authorities, Metropolitan assembly officials, chiefs, and parents from the winning school to showcase the hard work and efforts of local youth in line with the Government’s agenda towards improving 21^st century learning. Prizes included laptops, tablets, mobile handsets, and book vouchers and were handed to country winners from Nii Boye Town SDA Basic School, Martyrs of Uganda and Accra, and Sweet Code.

Local students rise above Covid challenges

Speaking about the awards ceremony, Francis Ahene-Affoh from DreamOval adds, 鈥淒espite the global pandemic and today鈥檚 disruptions to learning, Ghana received both innovative and creative competition entries. We selected the best three to represent our country for the continental challenge and look forward to seeing our local talent showcased with Africa鈥檚 top students.鈥�

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is an听exciting pan-African competition听that invites youth aged 8-16 years to program a Scratch game aligned to the ‘Change the world with your Superpowers’ theme. Participants are invited to compete individually or in teams of up to five people to test students鈥� ability to write basic code using the scratch language and to show their level of competence in a 2min video which is reviewed by a panel of judges.

Speaking at the event, Chief of Nii Boye Town, Nii Ayi Mensah 1, acknowledged the students and their hard work and the importance of key influencers and local ambassadors in fostering digital education in the community. He also highlighted the importance of digital learning and education while referencing the students from SDA who were shining examples with their winning creations in the AfriCAN Code Challenge.

Francis from DreamOval echoed Nii Ayi Mensah 1鈥檚 words at the event by celebrating the students鈥� tenacity and dedication, but also encouraged them to take digital learning and coding seriously as a 鈥榯ransformative journey鈥� that will change their lives and make them competitive in the global economy.

Ghana helps conquer Africa鈥檚 digital divide听听

During 2021 alone, more than 621 teachers have been trained in Ghana during Africa Code Week鈥檚 Train-the-Trainer (TTT) sessions during the month of August thanks to the implementing partner, DreamOval Foundation.

Due to COVID-19 and to support health and safety regulations, the training was scheduled online and created an opportunity for teachers to register from all corners of the country. 鈥淕hana has recorded impressive results over the years during the TTT sessions, and this year was no exception,鈥� concludes Francis Ahene-Affoh.

To find out more information about Ghana鈥檚 continued support in Africa Code Week or to get involved, contact the DreamOval Foundation or send an email to francis@dreamoval.com.

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