Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, says digital adoption and use can offer women, and girls opportunities to overcome hurdles they may face in the physical world.
She said digital access could empower women and girls, help expand their sense of self in the world, increase civic engagement, and raise awareness of their rights.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful was speaking at the 2022 Huawei Ghana Seeds for the Future Programme closing and Awards ceremony.
The programme seeks to promote the participation of more women and girls in ICT and empower them to take up careers in Science Technology and Mathematics (STEM).
The eight-day Seeds for the Future journey aimed at exposing participants to cutting-edge technologies, Chinese culture and other industry trends.
The all-female programme had talents coming from 14 tertiary institutions across the country.
She said it would also facilitate flexible working hours, enabling women to combine their caregiving roles and careers effectively by working from home with digital platforms.
Out of 50 young women shortlisted for the training, 30 outstanding beneficiaries will be graduated.
She said the girls have spent several days investing in their future, and it was inspiring to see how they plan to use the new STEM skills, including enhanced digital skills, and strengthened leadership ability.
The Minister said the programme had over the years developed a strong talent foundation for Ghana, particularly among young women.
She commended Huawei Ghana for their excellent achievement on the Seeds for the Future programme and for the successful outcome.
She said to better understand the role of technology and the opportunities therein and find a better way to communicate it to the young girls, while at the same time showcasing female role models in the field.
“We stand a better chance of churning out more and more technology focused young women.
This has been our underlying principle and finds expression in our girl focused initiatives,” she added.
She said the government would continue to invest heavily in ICT infrastructure and it is essential that “we prioritize cybersecurity and take steps to prevent and manage security threats as a way of protecting our investments.”
The Minister said by investing in the development of experts and talents, “we can help ensure that our systems and networks are secure and resilient, protecting individuals, businesses, and the society.”
Mr Tommy Liang, the Managing Director of Huawei Ghana, said over the past few weeks, “we have been privileged to host a group of 50 talented young ladies from various universities across the country.”
He said while in the programme, these students received training in cutting-edge ICT technologies such as 5G, AI, Big Data, Cell Site Design, Augmented reality and Virtual reality.
He said they also had the chance to be mentored by professionals during the Tech4Good programme, and they created solutions to developmental challenges.
“As an all-girls edition, the programme sought to empower and inspire young women to pursue careers in the male-dominated field of ICT,” he added.
He expressed the hope that they would use the valuable insights and experiences gained to excel in their future careers.
“As you embark on the next chapter of your professional journeys, I want to encourage you to continue to learn, innovate, and strive for excellence,” he said.
