SIXTY one female graduates of the ten-day ‘Binti Dijitali (BD)’ National Coding Camp have been urged to continue practicing what they have learnt during the short course.
Director of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Department in the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training Mr Mbwana Yahya Mwinyi said that the training will place the female graduates in a better position to transform their lives and contribute to nation building.
“The end of the course marks the beginning of your struggle to acquire more knowledge in ICT (Information Communication Technology). We are living in a fast-changing world in science and technology, use the opportunities provided to you effectively,” said Mr Mwinyi.
He further told the young girls, particularly those without computers, to use the computer labs in school close to their residence.
“We have 23 computer labs including nine in Pemba Islands, be free to visit and use any close to your place. Currently, there is a problem of connectivity, but soon it will be resolved,” he informed the gathering at the BD closing ceremony held at Jang’ombe Secondary School.
Ms Lucy Tesha- Programme Manager from UN Women which facilitated the BD programme with support from Belgium, commended the young girls for completing the coding camp in Zanzibar and that his office would continue following up their development.
One of the six trainers Ms Raya Idrissa Ahmada said “We enjoyed the training, despite the fact that the trainees were from different social and education backgrounds. All the trainees were eager to learn how to code.”
Topics covered during the camp period include Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) & ICT; and Introduction to Computer Science and Programming; Design Thinking; Website Development; Mobile Application Development and Introduction to Robotics.
She explained that coding camp was for the selected young women and girls aged between 17-25 years old from secondary school to university level.
The selection criteria were also based on interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related subjects; and know how to use computers with basic knowledge of computer science.
Ms Hudaa Khamis Mohamed- trainee and beneficiary of the coding camp thanked the UN Women, Belgium, and the government through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training for initiating the programme.
