Francis Ahene-Affoh Archives - 51��Africa News Center

AfriCAN Code Challenge, DreamOval Foundation Honours Deserving Pupils

51��News — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 06:43:18 +0000

The in partnership with SAP, YouthMobile, and , organized an inspiring award ceremony this week for Ghanaian students who have played an active part in this year’s Africa Code Week (ACW) AfriCAN Code Challenge competition.

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, “Despite the global pandemic and today’s 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’s top students.”

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is an��exciting pan-African competition��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’ 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’s words at the event by celebrating the students’ tenacity and dedication, but also encouraged them to take digital learning and coding seriously as a ‘transformative journey’ that will change their lives and make them competitive in the global economy.

Ghana helps conquer Africa’s digital divide��

During 2021 alone, more than 621 teachers have been trained in Ghana during Africa Code Week’s 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. “Ghana has recorded impressive results over the years during the TTT sessions, and this year was no exception,” concludes Francis Ahene-Affoh.

To find out more information about Ghana’s 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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Ghana Teachers Embrace Digital Learning

51��News — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:19:40 +0000

Switch to all-virtual model enables teachers from all 16 regions to take part in Train-the-Trainer sessions
Survey reveals teachers wish to continue virtual model even after pandemic subsides
AfriCanCode Challenge mobilises youth enthusiasm for digital skills

ACCRA, Ghana – 14 September 2021 – Despite the dual challenges of low internet penetration and a switch to virtual teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in Ghana have embraced the opportunity to learn 21^st century digital teaching skills during this year’s Africa Code Week Train-the-Trainer campaign.

Ghana has from 14.2 million people in 1989 to 28.8 million people in 2017. , a demographic dividend that the Ghanaian government aims to harness through improved education opportunities for all its youth.

Speaking at the launch of last year’s Train-the-Trainer activities in Ghana, Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Yaw Adutwum, said: “Coding is not just a skill. It’s a different way of teaching and a different way of learning that puts the student at the centre of the learning process.”

More than 39 000 teachers in 37 countries were mobilised during the 2019 Africa Code Week. This year, with an all-virtual format due to the impact of the pandemic, Africa Code Week is taking place in all African countries, including a month-long series of virtual coding sessions that took place across the continent from October until December.

Teachers embrace digital learning opportunity

Francis Ahene-Affoh, SVP at the DreamOval Foundation, says there was a high level of interest in the Train-the-Trainer sessions this year despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic. “We had to switch to an all-virtual teaching model supported by 51��master trainers from around the world, as well as our network of local partners. Teachers from all regions in Ghana registered and participated on the virtual training. Teachers from as far as Fumbisi in the Builsa south in the Upper East region of Ghana. This is an opportunity for an inclusive training, ensuring every teachers irrespective of location benefits from the coding training. This year’s training targeted 800 teachers. In 2020 alone over two weeks, we trained 1080 teachers from across the country.”

A survey conducted by the DreamOval Foundation of participating teachers revealed many would choose to continue with online learning in future. “While the majority of participants at this year’s Train-the-Trainer sessions were from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, this year’s virtual learning model also enabled teachers from every part of Ghana to participate,” says Ahene-Affoh. “We believe this indicates a need for virtual teaching to continue even when the pandemic subsides, as the travel to attend training sessions in person can be an obstacle to teachers’ participation.”

Internet connectivity continues to be a challenge in Ghana, and few teachers have access to laptops. “Despite not having resources, more than half of teachers surveyed joined the sessions via their mobile phones. This level of commitment and passion for teaching and digital skills development is hugely encouraging as we work to prepare the country’s youth for participation in the digital economy,” says Ahene-Affoh.

Mobilising youth in continent-wide coding challenge

A recent addition to Africa Code Week activities is the AfriCan Code Challenge, a continent-wide coding challenge calling on youth aged 8 to 16 to compete in a competition. The competition was launched in September last year in partnership with SAP, UNESCO YouthMobile and Irish Aid.

According to Mustapha Diyaol Haqq, Africa Code Week’s 2019-2020 youth ambassador in Ghana, interest in the AfriCanCode Challenge has been high among Ghanaian youth. “Despite low levels of internet penetration in Ghana, young aspiring coders from across the country have taken up the challenge. Through teamwork, problem-solving and newly-developed coding skills, youth are putting forward their vision for what the future of education holds for the continent.”

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51��Africa, says: “While the pandemic has upended the lives of learners and teachers across the continent and disrupted schooling, it has also created opportunities. The growing urgency to provide learning through digital channels is driving greater interest in digital skills among learners and teachers alike.��Teaching young kids to code is a gift that will endure for decades to come. If we harness our most precious resource – our abundance of youthful talent – Africa will go from strength to strength in 2021 and beyond.”

For more information about Africa Code Week, please visit

ENDS

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Africa Code Week 2019 Results: Governments and Communities Mobilize to Drive Digital Skills Development Among African Youth

51��News — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 08:06:44 +0000

SAP, UNESCO & partners empower 3.85 million youth with basic coding skills in 2019.

Africa Code Week 2019 results show impact on sustainable capacity building to support government-led digital skills development.

Several African countries started adopting coding skills into school curricula.

Africa Code Week (ACW) 2019 has once again exceeded expectations by empowering 3.85 million youth across 37 African countries. More notably, the progressive adoption of digital skills into the school curriculum of several African countries points to the growing influence of educational initiatives such as ACW in preparing the continent’s youth for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51��Africa, says: “Once again, Africa’s vibrant youth population has stepped-up to claim its place in the global economy, with millions of young Africans taking on the challenge of learning essential digital skills. Africa Code Week’s growing partner ecosystem and continued focus on equipping teachers with tools and knowledge is creating a sustainable platform for building a bright future for the continent, the benefits of which will be seen for decades to come.”

Empowering youth by transforming teaching in the digital age

Launched in 2015 by 51��and UNESCO, Africa Code Week is on a mission to introduce coding skills to African youth 8-16 years of age by raising awareness of the importance of digital education and building teaching capacity.

In support of this, says Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Africa Code Week Global Lead at SAP, the 2019 edition expanded its outreach to a record-breaking number of teachers. “Together with our partners and thanks to their support, we witnessed more than 39,000 teachers mobilized as part of the October 2019 workshops, including over 17,500 in Morocco alone. In Nigeria, we also scaled our impact by working closely with the Niger and Taraba state governments, enabling teachers across the region to access the training for the first time. And thanks to the DreamOval Foundation in Ghana, children with disabilities were able to attend tailored coding classes ensuring equal opportunities for all.”

Francis Ahene-Affoh, SVP at DreamOval Foundation, said: “Teaching our youth digital skills is also an opportunity to inspire and engage their creativity and open the door to new thinking around the challenges we face as a country and a continent. Africa Code Week is a powerful tool to enable all-inclusive education that leaves no child behind.”

Governments now driving transformation of teaching, skills development

Since the launch of ACW in 2015, several countries including Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia have included digital literacy into their respective school curricula. Ahene-Affoh points to the Ghanaian government’s efforts to make coding skills a core pillar of basic education as a recent success made possible in part by ACW. “The impact of Africa Code Week in inspiring our youth to think innovatively and expand their capabilities in basic coding should not be underestimated. Over the course of the past five years that we have actively supported the program in Ghana, many children at the basic education level have been inspired to prepare themselves for the 21st century job market.”

Another success story can be found in Morocco, where digital skills were included in the country’s school curriculum benefitting millions of youth. According to��Hon. Saaïd Amzazi, Morocco’s Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research, “Africa Code Week played a key role in making computer science both a priority and a celebration in every Moroccan school. The initiative helped trigger a passion for learning on an unprecedented scale while making best practices available for other nations to build on.”

In Africa Code Week 2019, Morocco secured first place among the 37 participating countries by successfully engaging 2.4+ million youth, of which 48% were girls. A Women Empowerment Workshop hosted by the Ministry in Rabat in October also engaged 28 teachers from 15 countries and focused on sharing best practices for girl mentoring, teacher training and access to digital education. Ranking second place in 2019, Cameroon’s engagement highlights strong government focus on capacity-building strategies.

The 2019 results also reveal that 47% of total ACW participants were girls. “Africa Code Week is a powerful tool for levelling the playing field and bringing more women and girls into the digital economy,” says Moez Chakchouk, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information. “The program is also a successful model in achieving Sustainable Development Goal #17, highlighting��how local and global public-private partnerships can enhance international support for capacity-building programs.”

Partnering for greater impact

Actively supported by UNESCO YouthMobile, Google, Irish Aid, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Jokkolabs and the Camden Education Trust, the program works closely with African governments and more than 130 local organizations and 120 ambassadors across the continent.

Joining forces with SAP, Google supported Africa Code Week by allocating grants to 55 non-profits that focus on expanding access to digital skills to youth in 18 countries. More grassroots organizations received funding from BMZ (16 grants in 12 countries) and UNESCO (15 grants in 8 countries) to boost girls’ access to ACW training.

According to Gillissen-Duval, “Africa Code Week’s greatest strength is its strategic partnerships. With their help we are able to introduce an exciting new chapter for 2020 and beyond by completely shifting to the world of virtual! The program modification will increase our Pan-African reach to ensure no child or teacher is left behind, and will be formally announced over the next few weeks.”

In addition to the number of teachers and youth empowered, additional highlights for 2019 include Irish Aid, the Irish government’s official international development aid program, joinining the program as strategic partner and Hadi Partovi, tech entrepreneur and founder, attending a workshop at the Siyafunda Community Technology Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to Smith, the initiative helps prepare Africa’s youth for an uncertain future. “All stakeholders in the public and private sectors need to unite and support a radical overhaul in how we prepare Africa’s youth population, which is expected to reach 455 million by 2055, to be active participants in the digital economy. The impact of Africa Code Week on the African education sector is an encouraging sign for the future of the continent.”

Visit the ACW web site and for more information on this fifth edition. Follow 51��and ACW on Twitter at , and ��

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Francis Ahene-Affoh Archives - 51����Africa News Center