Africa Code Week 2017 Launched in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Africa Code Week (ACW) officially kicked-off
in Tanzania in the presence of Government officials and hundreds of
pupils from surrounding areas kicking off the first series of live
coding workshops.
Prof. Joyce Ndalichako Tanzanian Minister of Education, Science,
Technology and Vocational Training, joined SAP alongside Hon. Ciaran
Cannon, Irish Minister of State for the Diaspora and International
Development, UNESCO YouthMobile, the German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Cape Town Science
Centre, the Galway Education Centre, and Google to declare the 2017
edition of Africa Code Week open across 35 countries.
500,000 children and youth aged 8-24 are expected to participate in
the thousands of free coding workshops that will be organized
throughout the week. In the run-up to these events, thousands of
teachers have been trained by skilled volunteers from SAP CSR EMEA and
ACW Ambassadors across most participating countries.
With half a million young Africans engaged over the past two years, 15
Governments and over 100 partners on board already, Africa Code Week
speaks volumes on the importance and impact of public-private
partnerships in the digital age.
According to Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate
Social Responsibility at SAP and Global Project Lead for Africa Code
Week, "Tanzania is a perfect example of how governments can leverage
the Africa Code Week shared-value model and dynamic ecosystem to
accelerate schools' digital transformation and fast-track youth
empowerment through ICT across entire nations."
Tanzania has grown faster than the average rate of growth in
sub-Saharan Africa (6.9% compared to 4.9% growth rate since 2005) and
key drivers for its path to transformation are centered around
technology based innovation and improving skills.
Minister Ndalichako noted that "the use of ICT has increased
considerably in recent years, it is a key foundation which will lift
Africa out of poverty in a sustainable manner. We are thankful to SAP
and Africa Code Week partners for their support in our efforts to
boost STEM skills development for our youth, and we look forward to
empowering a new generation of digital innovators across Tanzania and
Africa at large", she said.
Attending the first series of coding workshops organized for Tanzanian
pupils ahead of the ceremony, Minister Cannon commented "for the young
generation to take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by
the digital revolution, coding must become part of their daily
learning journey: coding is the 21st century language and as with any
other language, the earlier children learn it, the faster they become
fluent."
Celebrating more than a continent-wide education revolution in the
making, the launch also shed light on the African female leaders who
dedicate their life to improving digital skills and employment
perspectives for girls in the digital century.
As part of the Africa Code Week, the German Federal Ministry for
Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides micro grants to 20 female
tech leaders who organize coding workshops in 17 African countries
specifically for girls.
"250 million fewer women than men have access to the internet. We
need to take action to close this gap and make sure women and girls
can benefit from the potentials of the digital revolution", said
Roland Lindenthal, Head of Division Education and Digital World at
BMZ.
The engagement of the BMZ is part of the #eSkills4Girls initiative
launched under the German G20 presidency. At their meeting in July,
the G20 leaders committed to support digital skills of women and girls
worldwide. To underline the political message, the BMZ takes action
and supports the coding workshops and other activities to promote the
participation of women in the digital economy.

By EABW REPORTER, Friday, October 20th, 2017


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