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聽000 in Nigeria, and in Cameroon, we had 897聽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�

[i]

[ii]

The post Conquering Africa鈥檚 Digital Divide: 51风流Africa Code Week Empowers 2.6 million Youth in 2022 appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

Cracking the gender inequality code

From the time of ACW鈥檚 launch in 2015, SAP, and key global partners such as and , have been on a mission to introduce coding聽 to youth and teachers, one community at a time. But with only 28% of women pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, Africa is well below the global average[i]. Year on year, ACW ambitiously aims to increase the participation of women and girls in this field. During the 2021 edition, more than 48% of the participants were girls, while a further 7,848 were young people with special needs. Olajide Ademola Ajayi, ACW Global Coordinator at SAP, says, 鈥淚n today鈥檚 turbulent post-pandemic digital boom, we need to ensure that no one gets left behind.鈥�

Adding to this, Dr Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, says, 鈥淣oting the extent to which digital skills are increasingly needed to understand and participate in today鈥檚 knowledge societies, it is particularly important that we address the gender disparity in STEM careers, especially as these are often described as the jobs of the future, driving innovation, social wellbeing, inclusive growth and sustainable development.鈥�

To further inspire and prepare girls for tomorrow鈥檚 workplace, ACW recently hosted the fourth annual , a unique Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program that equips African female educators with the competencies and knowledge they need to successfully teach. The aim of the Program is to close the digital gender gap and help ensure that everyone plays a role in shaping Africa鈥檚 future in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Teaching the teachers

In addition to the youth trained, the ACW program also upskilled +20,000 teachers during 2021 via its Train-the-Trainer (TTT) sessions. These sessions are a multiplier and enabler for digital know-how to become a core pillar of basic education in each participating country. 鈥淎frica has an abundance of potential, but the skills gap in this area is holding us back. With Africa鈥檚 rising youth unemployment, education is the key to creating a talent pool ready to take on 21^st-century jobs and will ultimately help leapfrog the continent forward. It is Africa鈥檚 time to shine,鈥� says ADEA Executive Secretary and ACW Patron, Albert Nsengiyumva.

Morocco leads in learning

For the fifth year in a row, Morocco successfully empowered the highest number of youths with 1,5 million gaining coding capabilities 鈥� a 9% increase from the previous year! Additionally, more than half of the teachers who received training, 11,000, came from Morocco. In fact, 4% of the entire Moroccan population participated in ACW. Ilham Laaziz, Director of the GENIE program at the Moroccan Ministry of Education and Vocational Training shares, 鈥淲hen ACW was first launched in 2015, only 20 teachers were trained live by 51风流volunteers, yet more than seven million Moroccan youth were introduced to coding over the six editions of the program. We are thrilled that the 2021 edition was such a success, not only for Morocco but for the entire continent! ACW is a powerful platform to propel teachers and students into the digital century.”

Saving society with coding

A highlight of the 2021 edition was the second annual AfriCAN Code Challenge – a pan-African coding competition where young people are tasked with coding a game using the Scratch programming language to help address societal issues. This year, participants were asked how they would save the world with their superpowers, and the winning superheroes were Devansh and Darshika from Mauritius with their Super Recyclers game.

The competition was launched in 2020 in partnership with SAP, UNESCO, Irish Aid, ADEA and and has since become an annual celebration of youth and innovation in Africa.

鈥淚t is only through the power of partnerships that we can help unlock the digital potential of millions more young Africans and empower them to become the leaders of tomorrow鈥檚 digital economies,鈥� concludes Irish Minister for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy.

For further information or to find out how to get involved in this year鈥檚 Africa Code Week initiative, visit .

[i] https://en.unesco.org/news/international-day-women-and-girls-science-addressing-and-transforming-gender-gap

About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touches an SAP庐 system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit

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