A 14-year-old student of the St Paul’s Roman Catholic  Junior High School in the Tamale Metropolis was declared the Overall Winner.

Miss Christiana Wehle Awiah, who scored 100 per cent in the competition, took home a cheque for GH¢3,000, a plaque, a certificate, a laptop and other souvenirs.

The second and third positions went to Amanda Daal,13, from the Kpandai District, and Husinatu Mohammed,14, from the Tamale Metropolis respectively.

They both received plaques, laptops, certificates and cash prizes.

Additionally, ICT laboratories would be established in the respective schools of the top three winners.

In all, 1,000 girls from the 16 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) were trained in basic ICT skills.

They were taken through topics such as coding, cyber security, website development and games, among others.

Also honoured were some girl-child education officers and trainers from various districts in the region for their dedication and commitment.

At the climax of the programme in Tamale, the Minister of MoCD, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said that as part of the programme, the best 100 girls from each region would be in

Accra to interact and network with women in technology at their respective workplaces to inspire them in their career pursuit.

She reiterated the government's commitment to building a digital economy and bridging the gender gap in ICT.

The minister further encouraged young girls to embrace programmes in ICT and also take advantage of the opportunities it offered people globally.

Appreciation

On behalf of her colleagues, Miss Awiah expressed appreciation to the ministry for the programme and pledged their determination to study hard to achieve their dreams.

She said although she knew how to play around the computer, “this is my first time of learning how to code.

I felt excited knowing I can instruct the computer to create games, animations, stories and websites”.

Background

The Girls-in-ICT programme is being implemented by the ministry in collaboration with its agencies to bridge the gender gap in ICT in the country.

It was launched in 2012 by the International Telecommunications Union to empower girls and young women to pursue studies and careers in ICT.

However, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation in 2017, adopted the initiative as a platform to equip girls between the ages of 9 and 15 years (Upper Primary to JHS) with knowledge and skills in basic ICT and coding.

The programme, which exposed participants to coding, cyber security and website development, was implemented by the ministry with support from MTN Ghana, the German Development Cooperation, the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, GIFEC, and the American Towers Corporation (ATC).