National Girls-In-ICT Mentorship Day held for 1000 girls in Koforidua

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) as part of commemorative activities of the National Girls-In-ICT programme, held a mentorship session for the 1000 beneficiaries who participated in the programme in the Eastern Region.

The mentorship session is aimed at grooming the girls on life skills, career development and to also encourage them to consider the opportunities in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The mentors were all career women drawn from the ICT industries, Telecommunications, Cyber Security Authority, Manners on Point and some past beneficiaries of the Girls-In-ICT programme.

The girls were educated on menstrual hygiene management because as young girls they need to understand their menstrual circle and prepare for it.

The mentors also engaged the girls on how to honour and respect their bodies by keeping themselves and appearing neatly and looking smart.

Other topics were on Emotional intelligence, Public Speaking, Time Management, Reproductive Health,. The essence of honesty, Self awareness and empathy. It was discussed that, people must deliberately ensure that their values and integrity were tendem with their self-esteem and awareness.

The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, encouraged the girls to believe in themselves and work hard to achieve their dreams.

“Our mentors told us about their journeys and despite the odds, they succeeded so girls you are also achievers and you can do it because you were the chosen ones from your various districts so you are special and you can be the light for your communities.”

She urged the girls to continue to practice what they have learned to perfect their skills.

Communication Minister, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has shared her life with youths, explaining that beyond the status-inspired attention that comes to the path of a top government official, lies hidden a life of struggle and sweat.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, a women’s rights activist and private legal practitioner, says her ability to embrace education and diligent pursuance of academics despite the odds ensured that she did not end up as a lady relegated to a corner striving to make ends meet.

“I have sold charcoal before. Were it not for education, I would be selling charcoal because I have sold charcoal before. Today, by God’s grace and because I went to school, I’m a lawyer and a communications minister. I will encourage everyone to take advantage of the policies that we’re putting in place in education to educate our people”.

She was of the view that if girls take up careers in ICT, it will serve as a liberation for future success.

The chairperson of the event, Okyehemaa, Nana Adutwumwaa Dokua, advised the students to take their education seriously and endeavor to pursue ICT in their next education career.

She encouraged the students to be confident and courageous with a positive attitude and self-esteem with the aim to choose their career path to develop their skills in the ICT space.

Interacting with the beneficiaries of the Girls in ICT programme, she underscored the need for the female students to manage their time and plan their days to achieve their goals and future aspirations.

The Girls in ICT programme is aimed at selecting female students from basic schools to train and mentor them in the Information and Communication Technology ICT skills and to bridge the gaps between the males and females in the study of ICT.

Lead, Communications at the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Ms Ama Bawa, interacting with the girls revealed that a report from a research conducted in somewhere 2016 indicate that two out of ten students have met someone they first got online while three out ten have experience something bothered on cyber security.

She explained that cyber bullying amounts to the use of abusive text, emails imitating excluding or humiliating others online .

Ms Ama Bawa indicated that the use of fake accounts, flattering words, intimacy building desensitisation among others are the tactics of the online groomers and sexual predators.

She urged the students to refrain from abusive use of their phones and be mindful of what they share, like or comment on the Internet space as well as sextortion and online dating.

She admonished the students to use strong passwords, keep their profiles private and not to share nude photos to help keep them protected online.