Girls in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) initiative is set to be a biannual programme which will train girls to stimulate and develop their interest in Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

Due to successful training of 600 students from nine districts in Western Region, earlier this year in May 2019, 980 girls from 14 districts in the Central region will be additionally trained this year.

At a press briefing, the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the initiative is part of measures to bridge the gender gap existing in ICT.

“The training of the girls in the nine districts starts Monday. The mentorship day and climax event will be held in Cape Coast on November 4 and 5,” she stated. 

She added, “The next stop for the ‘Girls in ICT’ initiative after the Central region will be the newly created Oti region in the first quarter of next year,”.

Ghana presented an all-girls robotics team for the senior division of the World Robofest Championship in the United States and they won the topmost position by beating teams from the U.S., Mexico, Egypt, South Korea and dozens of others.

Named Team Acrobot, the nine girls from the Methodist Girls’ High School in the Eastern region dominated the 10 broad and challenging categories of the championship held in May at the Lawrence Technological University (LTU), Southfield, Michigan.

The recently launched MsGeek Ghana competition which is open to girls of ages 13-25 is also part of the efforts to narrow the gender digital divide in the country.

The competition aims to excite girls to invent and use technology to solve everyday challenges.

Submission for entries into the competition is still open until 10 November 2019.

“The winner of MsGeek Ghana will represent Ghana at the MsGeek Africa competition in Guinea Conakry in March 2020 during the first Transform Africa Summit to be held outside Kigali, Rwanda,” Madam Owusu-Ekuful said.