Telecom Namibia was a proud sponsor of internet connectivity and Wi-fi at the Connected Africa Girls Coding Camp. The 5th edition commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was held in Namibia, in partnership with the Namibian government, UN Namibia, UN WOMEN, and the International Telecommunications Union.
Telecom Namibia is honored to be part of the Connected African Girl initiative which prepares young Namibian women to lead the fourth industrial revolution. The seven-day tailored programme hosted at the Windhoek Palm Hotel ran from 16-24 August and was aimed at bridging the digital divide and advancing ICT skills across the African continent.
Telecom Namibia’s Head: Corporate Communication, Nomvula Kambinda emphasised that Telecom Namibia has aligned itself with the Namibian Government’s long-term aspirations and development goals contained in Vision 2030. This sponsorship geared towards empowering girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills will help increase the number of females in STEM related jobs, break down gender stereotypes and will expose girls to STEM, empowering them as leaders of the future 4IR promises. “As the world prepares for the 4th Industrial Revolution, the inclusion of women is a joint responsibility and with this sponsorship Telecom Namibia aims to give more females the ability to learn STEM and feel supported, and in this way, create the next generation of female leaders. Teaching girls to code is needed to close the gender gap in the technology world, and the overall gender digital divide.”
The hybrid training boot camp targeted young Namibian women and girls between the ages of 12 to 25 years, at the 7-day tailored workshop focused on rotational classes in the areas of 3D printing, animation, gaming, web development, turtle stitch, robotics, IoT, fashion design thinking, and computational thinking etc. The African Connected Girls initiative aims to narrow the digital gap by empowering young African women and girls with the necessary foundational building-block skills to find long-term success in education, employment, and entrepreneurship, while creating a conducive environment for collaborative efforts.
On the final day of the camp, an innovation fair was held enabling the girls to showcase their projects developed during the coding camp by targeting solution-oriented ideas in response to the continent’s socio-economic challenges.
