In collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Child Protection, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Communications, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, UN Women in Senegal is launching the first coding camp as part of African Girls. The CAN Code Initiative (AGCCI) project deployed by the African Union in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union and Siemens.
The project’s first coding camp, lasting 10 days, will train 50 young girls living in Dakar from May 2 to May 11 in the Marmoz open digital space provided by Sheikh Hamidou Kane Digital University. At the end of the training each of the 50 beneficiaries will receive a laptop computer and a training certificate.
Coalition to Incorporate Women and Girls in ICT in Africa
In 2020, 35% of African men and 24% of African women used the Internet. These figures highlight the danger that unequal access to technology poses not only to the general economic development of the continent, but also to gender equality in particular, given that internet access is essential for development, social and economic, autonomy, education, , essential for. and fundamental rights of all.
“It is for this reason that the AGCCI initiative was launched by UN Women, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The AUC, AU’s Department of Health, Human Affairs and Social Development (HHSD), Women, is providing technical support to this initiative through the Directorate of Gender and Youth (WGYD) and the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI). It aims to train at least 2,000 girls aged 17-25 across Africa to become computer programmers. , train and empower them to become makers and designers, putting them on the right track to study and pursue careers in the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), education and coding sectors.
Upgradation of 6 (six) certified Senegalese trainers
The first phase of the initiative taken between April 2018 and December 2019 yielded good results. The second phase was launched in April 2022 by UN Women and its partners (AUC, ITU, ECA, UNESCO). To deploy the second phase, a training of trainers was conducted in Dar es Salaam-Tanzania in April 2022, with a team of trainers from 11 priority countries (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal) trained. , South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania). The interns will train the girls using a standardized training module during national coding camps to be coordinated in 2022 and 2023.
As far as Senegal is concerned, 6 trainers benefited from this training in Tanzania, following a selection that took place over several months through a public and open application. This phase of Senegalese training of trainers was the first important step in setting up the first coding camp to be held in Senegal.
Launch of the first coding camp in Dakar from May 2 to May 11, 2023
In Dakar, marking the deployment of its first coding camp, the AGCCI initiative will be officially launched on 2 May at the Espace Numérique Ouvert (ENO) in Mermoz in the presence of Senegalese officials and representatives of UN Women. This first coding camp will be held over 10 days from May 2 to May 11 at ENO’s location in Mermoz, provided by Sheikh Hamidou Ken Digital University.
The 50 young girls who would benefit from the program were selected from hundreds of applications received during a selection process that lasted several weeks. Between the ages of 17 and 25 and living in Dakar, they will be accompanied by a 10-day coding training course in optimal conditions. Each of them, at the end of the camp, will receive a certificate of participation as well as a personal computer and will then join a supportive community to strengthen their network and their knowledge in the field.
The official ceremony will be presided over by the Minister of Women, Family and Child Protection, with the participation of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Communications, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy.
