African Women Can Code Formally Launched in Rwanda to equip younger ladies with coding expertise

Rwanda’s  Ministry of Training and UN Ladies joined fingers to launch the African Women Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) in Rwanda, an initiative funded by Siemens.

According to the nation’s commitments on the Technology Equality Discussion board on advancing Expertise and Innovation, the initiative goals to equip younger ladies with coding expertise, spark their curiosity in ICT and set them on a path to pursue careers within the subject.

The Ministry of Training chosen fifty ladies between the ages of 17-25 to take part within the initiative, based mostly on their excessive efficiency in science, know-how, schooling and arithmetic (STEM) topics. 

Minister for Training, Hon. Valentine Uwamariya, mentioned that reaching gender equality in schooling stays a prime precedence for Rwanda.

“One of many greatest commitments of the Ministry of Training is to bridge the gender hole STEM topics, to achieve 50/50 by 2026,” she added.

The underrepresentation of girls in science and know-how fields is a world concern, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, ladies make up solely 30% of the STEM workforce.

Minister Uwamariya acknowledged that though there was sturdy progress, a number of challenges associated to gender inequality persist in schooling sector, together with the low illustration of ladies in STEM schooling on the secondary college stage, which at the moment stands at 47.7%.

Talking on the launch, UN Ladies Regional Director for Japanese and Southern Africa, Dr. Maxime Houinato thanked the Authorities of Rwanda for its sturdy management on gender equality within the science and know-how sector, not simply within the nation however on the regional stage, and additional inspired the women to make use of the abilities they purchase by AGCCI to deal with societal issues.

“By involving ladies and ladies in ICT and coding, we unlock their energy to create user-friendly know-how that addresses the particular wants of girls and ladies,” mentioned Dr. Houinato, emphasizing that bridging the gender digital divide isn’t just an crucial for gender equality, but additionally a necessary accelerator for reaching sustainable improvement targets.

Through the launch occasion, every of the 50 AGCCI contributors obtained a laptop computer to help their studying journey as they gear up for an intensive two-week coding camp to happen throughout college holidays later this yr. The coding camp will expose the women to numerous topic areas to strengthen their digital literacy and work readiness, together with design considering, programming, robotics, animation, and gaming, amongst others.

AGCCI, launched in 2018 by UN Ladies and the African Union Fee (AUC) in collaboration with the Worldwide Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Financial Fee for Africa (UNECA) and different companions, is devoted to empowering ladies throughout the African continent by equipping them with digital literacy and laptop expertise.

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