By:Isaac Amoah
There was a big joy on Tuesday, 19th November 2024, at the Business School Auditorium of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi when Success Joycelyn Dadzie, a 10-year-old Basic 6 pupil of Hwidiem MA Basic School in the Asante Akyem North district was declared overall winner of Girls in ICT for 2024 in the Ashanti Region.
Minister of Communication & Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful making presentation to Success Joycelyn Dadzie,
For her prize, she received a cash of GH¢3,000, a laptop, a plaque and a certificate.
The second runner-up and first runner-up, Amponsah Yaa Darkowaa, a 13-year-old pupil from the Ejisu municipality, and Micelle, a 12-year-old pupil from the Atwima Kwanwoma district, also went home with GH¢2,000 and GH¢2,500 respectively, including a laptop, plaques and certificates.
Some scenes from the event
The Girls in ICT national annual celebration, which originated in 2012 under the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, with partners like MTN Ghana, has several objectives.
The policy objective is to enhance the application of ICT in national development to expand the digital landscape and to enhance climate change resilience.
The 2024 National Girls in ICT celebration preceded the training of 100 teachers and 1000 girls in basic ICT, programming, graphic design, etc.
The second edition of the 2024 National Girls in ICT celebration, which was graced by the Minister of Communication & Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, among other dignitaries, saw the awards of laptops and certificates to best teachers and 100 best learners selected from 43 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful was full of praise to their partners, especially MTN Ghana, for supporting the initiative.
She urged the beneficiaries to be ambassadors in their various schools and communities.
Madam Sophia Tandoh from the MTN Corporate Services Department, in an interview with the media, pledged the continued commitment of her company to empower Ghanaian girls with ICT.
Madam Sophia Tandoh in an interview with the media
She revealed that since 2021 MTN had made huge investments to support the training.
She explained, “Our investments have contributed to the training of 10,000 girls and 1,000 teachers in basic ICT skills such as coding, website design, game development and animation development.
“The regions covered so far are North East, Western North, Ahafo, Bono East, Bono, Savannah, Northern, Eastern, Greater Accra and Ashanti.”
In her acceptance speech, Success Joycelyn Dadzie said she was extremely excited when her ICT teacher asked her mother for permission to include her in the training.
She recounted, “Madam Doris, our District Girl Education Officer, added my name to the list of girls selected for the Girls in ICT project. I was not new to computers but to develop my own games, animations, stories and websites was definitely new. I love the ability to create games!”
