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SAP and Google have taken
their partnership beyond global
technological collaboration and
joined forces to further intensify
the reach of the Africa Code Week.
A F RIC
AFRICA CODE WEEK 2018 RECEIVES
SIGNIFICANT GOOGLE SUPPORT
A
frica Code Week 2018 received
a significant boost with the
announcement of key partner
Google’s support of 53 non-profit
organisations across 11 countries.
This is the third consecutive year that
Google is making micro grants available
to organisations involved in implementing
Africa Code Week’s vision to instil 21st
century skills among Africa’s youth.
In 2016 and 2017, the company enabled
90 organisations across 10 countries
to expose more than 100, 000 youth to
computer science and coding.
According to Sunil Geness, Project Lead
for Africa Code Week, SAP and Google
have taken their partnership beyond global
technological collaboration and joined forces
to further intensify the reach of the Africa
Code Week programme to meaningfully
deepen digital literacy and augment efforts
to ensure that young Africans are prepared
to take full advantage of the Fourth
Industrial Revolution.
“Equipping Africa’s large youthful
workforce with 21st century digital
skills is vital to ensuring the continent’s
future success and its ability to achieve
the ambitions of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals,” said Geness.
“Google’s immense support will this
year alone empower 2,200 teachers who
will inspire an estimated 80,000 students
through computer science and coding
workshops. Our partnership will make
a significant contribution to ensuring a
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
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bright collective future for all citizens,
governments and private sector companies
on the African continent.”
Spearheaded by SAP CSR EMEA and
public and private sector partners, Africa
Code Week started in 2015 with the goal of
impacting the lives of two million youths
by 2020. To date, more than 1.8 million
youths across 35 African countries have
been introduced to 21st century digital skills.
With a focus on developing sustainable
local capacity, Africa Code Week also strives
to empower 70,000 teachers across the
continent with key skills and teaching
materials to help bridge the digital and
gender skills gap in Africa.
Mzamo Masito, Google’s Chief Marketing
Officer for sub-Saharan Africa said: “Africa
Code Week’s focus on instilling 21st century
skills and building local digital skills and
teaching capacity is superbly aligned to
own commitment in preparing 10 million
people in Africa for tomorrow’s workplace.
Following hugely successful partnership
activities over the past two years, we are
this year expanding our grant allocations
to support more organisations in their
efforts to inspire a new generation of digital
African workers.”
This year’s Google micro grant
recipients will host a series of community
workshops aimed at empowering youths
and teachers to create sustainable local
skills development capacity. Organisations
that will receive support from Google
this year stem from Botswana, Ethiopia,
Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,
Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Uganda.
A total of 53 organisations will receive
support in the form of Google micro grants
this year, including:
The Siyafunda Community Technology
Centre in South Africa, which aims to
equip 1,000 teachers with digital skills
Rekindle Learning in Kenya, which
focuses on preparing youth for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution with a specific focus
on girls
Greativation in Nigeria, which aims to
empower teachers of public secondary
schools in the outskirts of Lagos and
Ogun State with general basic Computing
and Programming knowledge, enabling
them to teach digital skills
Studio Samuel in Ethiopia, which
empowers at-risk girls to create and
develop coding projects that express their
artistry, enhance their critical thinking,
advance their computer skills and
encourage them to expand their education
and share knowledge with others
“All of this year’s grant recipients focus
on establishing communities of practice
to support youth as they prepare for a
future where digital and STEM skills are
paramount,” said Geness.
“With Google’s generous support, Africa
Code Week is playing an invaluable role in
developing sustainable local digital skills
capacity that will empower a new generation
of African worker with the knowledge and
inspiration they need to succeed.”
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