Economic Empowerment
Source: IT Web Africa
Rwanda's Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana has called on girls to study towards a career in ICT as a means to acquire skills and tackle unemployment.
The Minister made the call during a discussion on a YouthConnekt Hangout session ahead of the International Girls on ICT Day to be held on 25 April.
YouthConnekt is a platform that serves as a channel for the youth, private sector, and government to discuss solutions to address issues facing the youth, specifically those pertaining to employment and entrepreneurship.
The International Girls on ICT Day will feature the conclusion of the Ms. Geek Competition, an annual competition in which young women compete based on innovative ideas and the development of a certain technology designed around socio-economic issues currently faced by the country's citizens
The Minister stressed that the youth need to focus on their goals by owning their passion, vision and determination which – in the end – will bring partners to support their initiatives.
"It is very important for young girls and women globally, more especially in Rwanda, to take up studies and careers in ICT. Our country is on the move, we are busy transforming our economy from agricultural based economy to a knowledge-driven economy. ICT happens to be the engine of that transformation."
He further added that embracing ICTs opens doors to new opportunities: new jobs, new careers, new markets, and new connections.
"Let's encourage Rwandan girls to join ICT in big numbers. We have to keep spreading the word about the opportunities available in ICT."
The President of Girls in ICT, Rwanda, Lucy Mbabazi, remarked that "Technologies enable solutions. We want girls to know that they can use ICT to solve the different problems they face."
During the Youth Connekt Hangout, the speakers encouraged the youth to keep improving their ICT innovations. "When your idea (ICT project) is viable, you get sponsorship and your business is likely to be overly productive, and therefore you will be enhancing your community's welfare," one of the speakers pointed out.