BUBANZA, December 27th (ABP) – About 102 young girls, aged 17 to 25, from all provinces of Burundi, received certificates and mobile phones on Saturday, December 23, after the two-week training, in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which took place from the 11th to the 23rd of December in Bubanza province as part of the “African Girls Can Code Initiatives” project.
It was specified that he project was initiated by the Ministry of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, in partnership with UN Women.
In his speech, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry in charge of Communication and Media, Mr. Ferdinand Manirakiza, indicated that this “African girls can code initiatives” project aims to train and empower young girls through digital technology. It also aims to bridge the digital gender gap and encourage young girls’ access to the ICT sector, he continued to say.
Mr. Manirakiza said that despite gender disparities in the digital field, statistics reveal the growing importance of ICT in everyday life and their predominant role in all professional sectors. According to him, girls with ICT skills are more likely to be hired, but also, he added, the widespread dissemination of ICT knowledge will contribute to Burundi’s economic growth.
As for Mrs. Clara Anyangwe, representative of UN Women in Burundi, she promised that this organization will spare no effort to support the training of young girls.
Note that the first six young girls have benefited from computers and flash disks. They will participate in the competition with girls from ten other African countries, namely Rwanda, Tanzania, DRC, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Mali, Niger, Senegal and South Africa. The Bubanza multimedia center, on that occasion, was donated 21 computers from UN Women.