Mozambique hosts the train-the-trainer (TTT) workshops at the official build-up to SAP’s Africa Code Week (ACW). Africa Code Week was started in 2015 with the aim of simplifying the face of software coding for Africa’s youth.

The initiative’s main objective is to spread digital literacy across the continent and start shaping tomorrow’s skilled workforce through hands-on and playful learning. Besides SAP, other stakeholders like ; CADE, The University of Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), the Mozambique Information and Communication Technology Institute in Maluana (ENPCT) MozDevz and CeCAGe came in to support the initiative.

ACW helps contribute towards shaping a relevant future workforce by sparking interest in software coding with participants receiving not only basic skills but also invaluable hands-on experience. The initiative provides learners from the ages of 8 – 17 with coding basics and the opportunity to program their own animations, quizzes and games. Older learners, aged 18-24, are provided an introduction to web technologies such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and SQL in order to provide them with a basic understanding of website architecture, teaching them how to develop a fully operational and mobile-friendly website.

Last year’s ACW event saw more than 89,000 youngsters across 17 African countries introduced to software coding within a mere ten days – four times the initial goal. The aim for 2016 is to double that, reaching a minimum of 150,000 youth across 30 African countries – with Mozambique having its first code experience of ACW.

“This year’s train-the-trainer workshop has a target of training 600 trainers and we are pulling-out all the stops to ensure that our future teachers are trained by the very best – this will be done by flying four master trainers from Portugal to attend and facilitate the workshops. Critical to the success of Africa Code Week, the model relies heavily on the participation of volunteer trainers,” commented José Luís Carvalho, consulting Director, EMEA SAP Digital Business Services. “In order to provide a new generation of Digital Economy workers in Mozambique with the basics of the prerequisite skills for the competitive job market under the auspices of Africa Code Week, we need knowledgeable instructors in place to provide mentorship and skills transfer to participating youngsters.”

According to Luize Guimaraes, MUVA Program Manager, “Africa Code Week is an opportunity for us to showcase that Mozambique supports growth through technology. The mission of Muva is to economically empower women in urban areas and MuvaTech will take the lead to include more women in the ACW teacher training with the aim to increase the access of women and girls to technology and to create greater interest and knowledge about opportunities in the ICT industry. Muva Tech will support the process to educate disadvantaged girls and women on the ICT skills they need to find employment in this industry.”

- Ad -