Coding Bootcamp for African Girls underway at the Windhoek Palm Hotel
The hybrid fifth edition of the Connected Africa Girls Coding Camp in Windhoek is underway for the first time in Namibia as African women and girls learn about coding, app development, and computer science to improve their digital literacy and personal development skills.
The seven-day tailored programme hosted at the Windhoek Palm Hotel will run from 16-24 August and aims to bridge the digital divide and advance ICT skills across the African continent.
This hybrid training boot camp targeted young African women and girls between 12 to 25 years of age. Further, about 100 participants from Namibia are physically attending the event, while hundreds more join virtually from around the African continent.
The coding camp is organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, in conjunction with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Telecom Namibia, and other partners. Moreover, this camp features four main workshops on animation, web development, and gaming, Internet of Things (IoT) & robotics, and 3D printing. The camp will also feature master classes on Gender-Based Violence, UN SDGs, and Agenda 2063 including personal development skills.
“The government continues to support projects like the Connected African Girls Coding Camp as they directly benefit and uplift our citizens. The government through the Ministry of ICT is committed to implementing effective legislation that provides easy access to ICTS to create a knowledge-based society. Over the years, the government has made significant strides to integrate digital technology with the national development objectives,” said Peya Mushelenga, Minister of Information and Communication Technology during his keynote address at the official opening.
“In our endeavors to ‘leave no one behind to harness ICTs in education will go a long way in contributing to achieving Goal 17 of Agenda 2063’s aspiration 6 which seeks to eliminate all barriers to quality education, health, and social services for women and girls on the African continent,” Sen Pang, UN Resident Coordinator, UN Namibia.
Pang added that ongoing initiatives such as these would help to bridge the digital divide and advance ICT skills across the African continent by empowering our young girls with critical skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
“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,” according to a joint statement from both parties.
“To prepare our young women to lead the fourth industrial revolution, we must champion initiatives such as the Connected African Girl initiative. Coding has become the new literacy! Girls and young Namibian women need to become digitally savvy and active participants in shaping Namibia’s digital future,” revealed Jean-Paul Adam, Director, Technology, Climate Change, and Natural resources Division, UNECA.
On the final day of the camp, an innovation fair will be 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. In the last four editions of the coding camp, trainees have developed 198 innovative projects, of which 40 were recognized for their contributions to the community.
