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Google, Others Partner to Expand Digital Skills Program to Children across Africa
Google has announced that it is expanding its Digital Skills for Africa program to reach children in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
Google in a statement released on Tuesday said they will engage local organisations via its partnership with the Cape Town Science Centre to train 200,000 students in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa within 1 year.
According to the statement, “CS First is a Google program aimed at children aged 9 to 16.
“Created by educators and computer scientists, CS First introduces coding and computer science to students in a collaborative and creative club environment.
“CS First club members build projects in Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), a blocks-based programming language”.
The statement added that the training will be delivered through 26 collaborating organisations across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
“For areas with limited access to the internet and limited devices, CS First may be delivered through CS Unplugged.
“In addition, Google also aims to reach students through an Online Safety Roadshow project building on itś work with the Web Rangers program.
“This project will reach parents, teachers and students in all three countries.
“Google is once again joining forces with SAP and UNESCO as part of Africa Code Week 2019 to engage community-focused organisations across Africa to enable them to host coding workshops for children (aged 11-18) in their local communities during Africa Code Week this month. Some 55 organisations have been identified across the continent.
These activities form part of Google’s commitment to train 10 million Africans in digital skills by 2022.
Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, head, Brand and Reputation, SSA said “The training programmes promise to improve the children’s confidence in interacting with computers and their overall confidence and willingness to try new things,”
“With growing internet penetration across Africa, and the increasing trend of kids interacting online, Google believes it is important to provide helpful information to children and parents to enable children to take appropriate measures to stay safe online while exploring the internet with confidence.
“The training takes learnings from Google ́s Be Internet Awesome campaign and the content is carefully drafted to provide helpful tips to kids and parents, and information on useful tools like Google’s Family Link.”
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Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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