Digital coding to fight unemployment and build communities in SA
MELROSE ARCH – Africa Code Week kicked off on Teacher's Day with several partners and supporters in attendance to create awareness and celebrate the impact of digital skills initiatives.
In the fight against unemployment, building communities with digital capabilities has become a necessary tool.
South African radio DJ, Poppy Ntshongwana welcomed guests at the launch of Africa’s largest digital skills event, Africa Code Week at Melrose Arch. The event, which coincided with World Teacher’s Day, sought to raise a discussion and provide possible solutions on how to conquer Africa’s gaping digital divide seeing as less than 1 per cent of Africa’s youth leave school equipped with coding or digital skills.
Director of government relations and corporate social responsibility at global software company SAP (Systems Applications Products) Africa, Sunil Geness said the initiative was spearheaded by SAP in 2015 as part of its social investment to drive sustainable growth in Africa.
“Since 2015, almost two million youths have been introduced to coding skills and the initiative is rapidly expanding across the continent with more members coming on board,” said Geness.
South African Deputy Minister of Communications, Pinky Kekana said this vital development programme came at a crucial time when the country was focused on creating jobs. “The digital economy is here to stay so we need to create a society with such skills,” she said.
“If we accepted that English is a critical language for universal communication, then we need to accept that coding is the new English in the digital world today.”
Kekana added that the girl-child must be at the centre of this programme as it went without saying that ‘you teach a girl-child, you teach the whole nation’.
Relating the event to World Teacher’s Day, South African Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele said the government would invest everything necessary to equip teachers with skills needed for them to teach digital skills within a fourth industrial revolution. “The initiative should go beyond creating awareness and be more of a practical curriculum which is proficient for our country to compete at a global level,” said Cwele.
He added that the coding myth needed to be demystified as most people assumed it was only for science and maths people, however, even ‘old’ people such as himself sneaked online for some coding lessons on slow days.
Managing director at SAP Africa, Cathy Smith said the programme contributed effectively to the economy, society and environment. “None of this exciting era of technology would happen without partnerships and collaborations,” she said.
“These include SAP, Google, government and partners such as Unesco [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation] among others.”
Details: UNESCO
Do you have initiatives to help alleviate unemployment? send details of your project to naidines@caxton.co.za
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