In a significant move to strengthen the prospects of young people in Senegal, the Foundation, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU), inaugurated a project on November 20th aimed at equipping the youth with vital digital and coding skills necessary for success in the contemporary, technology-centric global landscape.
Three core objectives drove the project:
- Improving Digital Inclusion: This goal focused on enhancing access to digital resources, emphasizing girls and ensuring they are not left behind in the digital revolution.
- Youth Empowerment: By fostering creativity and innovation, the initiative aimed to prepare young individuals for the challenges and opportunities of the digital era, empowering them to become proactive contributors to the digital economy.
- Boosting Gender Equality in ICT: The project sought to address the gender imbalance in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), actively promoting the participation of girls and young women in the digital ecosystem and encouraging their pursuit of careers in these fields.
To materialize these objectives, the Foundation selected four schools located in rural or peri-urban areas. A total of 400 students were allowed to participate in the Introduction to Computer Basics (ICB) course, designed to lay the foundational stones of their digital education journey. Further enhancing the focus on gender equality and empowerment, a specialized coding curriculum was developed for the 80 top-performing female students from the ICB courses, utilizing VittaScience starter kits. This initiative aimed to equip these young women with coding skills and inspire them to explore and excel in STEM disciplines, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and equitable digital future for Senegal.
