Schoolgirls Get Starlink-Powered ICT Training in Zambia
Zambia launches Girls in ICT Learn-a-Thon, training schoolgirls in AI, cybersecurity and data science, backed by Starlink connectivity.
The Zambian Government through the e-Government Division (SMART Zambia Institute ) has launched the Girls in Information Communication Technology (ICT) Learn-a-Thon, an initiative aimed at reducing the gender digital gap by providing ICT training to girls in schools.
Speaking at the commemoration of the International Girls in ICT Day, SMART Zambia Institute Chief Government Technical Officer, Ms. KASALI MUSENGE, highlighted the persistent challenges girls and young women face in entering the ICT field.
58 Starlink kits have been deployed to schools under the Ministry of Education to enhance access to e-learning.– Ms. KASALI MUSENGE, Chief Government Technical Officer, SMART Zambia Institute
The three-week program will introduce participants to cybersecurity, modern artificial intelligence, and data science.
Ms. MUSENGE emphasized the government’s commitment to online child protection and safe digital spaces, citing the National Cybersecurity Act No. 2 of 2021 as a key safeguard for young innovators.
Meanwhile, Director of the National Science Centre, Dr BENSON BANDA, urged young learners to move beyond being ICT users and become inventors of the same devices they use.
Dr BANDA added that the government is committed to develop young learners’ confidence in ICT through the development of competence-based curriculum.
