The minister expressed a strong commitment to transforming Information and Communi­cations Technology (ICT) education for girls, emphasising the necessity for young females to adapt to the digital landscape in order to compete effectively both nationally and globally.

“Whether it’s developing apps, creating digital art, or solving real-world problems, the possi­bilities are endless,” she said during her visit to five selected ‘Girls-in-ICT’ training centres in the Ashanti Region, at the weekend.

The purpose of the tour was to cultivate enthusiasm and enhance appreciation among the participants of the Girls-in-ICT project, in accor­dance with the International Telecommunication Union’s Resolution 70.
    

This initiative aims to empower girls and women by providing them with essential skills in information and communication technology.

She mentioned the importance of giving the right skills to the girls which made the Ministry to expand the scope of the Girl in ICT pro­gramme from a day’s event to two weeks and train 100 teachers in every region to go back to their schools to teach.

The Minister announced that 1,000 girls from each region would receive training, and following a competition, the top 100 participants would be awarded laptops, while the best 10 would have computer laboratories established in their schools.

She expressed her satisfaction that within just one week of training, the students were capa­ble of creating their own websites, developing games and animations, and had gained a solid understanding of cyber security, along with some foundational training in the field.

During her visit, the Minister witnessed firsthand how this initiative has effectively nar­rowed the gender digital divide, thereby creating opportunities for young girls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The programme’s robust training modules include: Computer Programming -introducing participants to coding and software development fundamentals, Game Development providing in­sight into the world of game design and creation, Animation, encompassing teaching the art of digital storytelling and animation.

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“There is also Scratch, aiming at familiarising girls with programming concepts through the Scratch platform, Website Development, which offers skills in website creation and design, and Foundational Digital Skills to equip participants with essential digital literacy competencies,” she said.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the visit reaffirmed the government’s dedication to promoting gender equality and empowering young girls in ICT and to encourage them on their ICT journey.

She advised the participants to make full use of the Ghana Knowledge Skills Bank Portal to ac­cess an extensive range of online library archives.