African Girls Can Code bootcamp hosted at Northern Academy
Learners from Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West took part in a 10-day bootcamp that exposed them to science, technology, coding and more.
POLOKWANE- Forty girl learners this week benefitted from the first part of the African Girls Can Code 2023 initiative, that was implemented by the United Nations Women’s Agency in partnership with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Science and Innovation.
Under the theme, Accelerating Youth Economic Emancipation for a Sustainable Future, learners from Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West took part in a 10-day bootcamp from June 23 to July 4 at Northern Academy Primary School campus.
The programme exposes learners to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, coding and innovation and equip them with information and communication technologies (ICT) skills.
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Learners were introduced to computer science and next-generation technologies, user interface/user experience, website development, mobile applications development, robotics, and programming. They also learned about gender equality and women’s empowerment and what inclusion in the ICT sector will mean for progress and diversity.
Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya urged the learners to make the best of the opportunity that had been afforded to them to bring change to the country.
“The youth of 1976 liberated you in terms of your curriculum. You have arrived, and now you need to liberate us as well,” she said of the programme that tied in with Youth Month.
According to a report by Unicef, each year adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries miss out on US$15 billion (roughly R288b) in economic opportunities due to a gap in internet access and digital skills, relative to their male peers.
To contribute to the solution in Africa, UN Women and the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commissioned the programme in 2018.
“We are excited to see the roll-out of AGCCI in South Africa because in this way we are actively contributing to South Africa’s future ICT leaders. It is one thing to talk about gender equality but it’s even more encouraging to see big corporates, such as Siemens, throwing some financial muscle behind empowering young women in the early stages to take up spaces that have been predominantly male dominated,” said Aleta Miller, a representative of UN Women in the South Africa multi-country office.
