Educational Foundation promote technovation among Girl Child

By Maryam Abeeb

An educational foundation known as Odyssey Education Foundation has put in efforts to promote technovation among girl child by organizing pitch event in technology and entrepreneurship for schools.

The Founder of Odyssey Educational Foundation and Chapter Ambassador of “Technovation Girls” Abuja-FCT, Stella Uzochukwu-Denis , during her opening remark at the event in Abuja, disclosed that the foundation is created to increase the number of females studying and applying for STEM jobs among young people in Nigeria.

She explained that it is also aimed to accelerate the technological and industrialization of low- and middleincome African nations, as well as to close the gender gap,

“We’re here today to honor the bright young girls who created mobile apps to address some of the most pressing problems in our society, like encouraging girl child education, offering mentorship, putting an end to human trafficking, ending early marriages, and providing basic necessities to the underprivileged in Abuja, Nigeria.

According to her, the Technovation challenge is an excellent initiative that encourages young women to use technology to make the world a better place.

She added that over the years, girls have created smartphone apps to address a range of societal challenges, such as educational gaps, hunger and poverty, gender inequality, corruption, environmental disasters, and more.

She stated that for this season, teams from 92 schools in FCTAbuja, Nasarawa, Kano, and Bayelsa states, as well as independent teams, submitted their mobile apps.

The Minister of Women Affairs , Dame Pauline Tallen during her keynote address at the event in Abuja, said that encouraging girls in Nigeria to Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is very important for promoting gender quality .

Tallen who was represented by the Chief welfare officer, Ministry of Women of Affairs, Iweanya Priscilla added that it can also help in expanding job opportunities, fostering innovation and empowering young women to reach their full potential.

According to her, studies have shown that there is gender gap in STEM both in Nigeria and globally. She added that encouraging girls to pursue STEM education and careers can make them become role models for future generations and breakdown stereotypes and barriers .

She stated that in cloud computing just 12% of professionals are women, in engineering is just 26%as captured by Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2020.

“ Federal Ministry of Women affairs in an effort to improve on the information in the place of girls and women occupy inScience and Technology has embark on awareness creation campaign to promote Girl-Child education especially in STEM.

“Nigeria must prepare her girls to tap into ICT opportunity by allowing them learn component of ICT development and Computer Science for a successful career in the ICT sector and advanced digital skills,” she said.

In an interview with to one of the participants, Olorunfemi Faith said that the program has made her more informed about technology and innovation.

“I joined the program, I became more informed about technology and about innovation gave me the ability to identify problems that actually rampages I never actually goes on check revisions, it is the best means to bridge the gap which is mostly dominated by men, making them to demean the efforts and the capabilities of women.

“As a woman and as a tech entrepreneur. I would advise that you join Technovation it will give you more enterprising skills and eviction skills and teach you how to be a problem solver in future and presently,” she stressed.

Boys Brigade helmsman solicits partnership on infrastructure development

The newly elected National President of Boys Brigade Nigeria, Prof. Samson Duna, has called for partnership to train the boy-child for future leadership responsibilities.

Duna who made the call at his investiture on sunday in Abuja, said that the brigade was designed to discipline the boy-child and train him in the fear of God.

He said that the brigade had existed in Nigeria for 120 years and all its efforts were geared towards installing in the boy-child, responsible leadership and fatherly skills.

“As an organisation, we have a lot of challenges, we need to have basic facilities needed in training, we do not have a standard headquarters.

“We are constructing nine twobedroom residential flats and we want all well meaning Nigerians to partner with us, join hands with us to complete the project.

“We intend to rent each of them at N800,000 for a year and use the funds generated to address the needs of boys in the country,” he said.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Sen. Adeleke Mamora, expresses worry at the rate of moral decadence among young people especially the LGBT+ community.

According to him, medically when a baby is born, the gender is determined but there is a movement that wants the child to become of age and to decide to be a male or female.

Making reference to the Bible, the minister said that “we are the salt of the earth and the metaphor of salt is significant as it is the greatest preservative”.

“As Christians we are called to protect societal values and we must protect it; the force of morality is greater than the force of law as demonstrated in the story of the Good Samaritan.

“That is what we are called upon to do,” he said,” he said.NAN