UN Women Tanzania is launching a call for applications to qualified girls to participate the first coding camp to be held in Mbeya, from 27th February – 10th March 2023.
The coding camps are coordinated in close collaboration with United Republic of Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) through the:Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups,Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology,Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
In 2022 UN Women, AUC, ITU together with UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNECA with financial support from the Government of Belgium launched the second phase of the African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) on April 28th, 2022 in Dar Es Salam. This high-level launch brought together officials from the AUC Department of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, Government of Tanzania, UN agencies, private sector, and AGCCI Alumni.
The core objectives of the AGCCI are to: Create a pool of trainers to provide trainings at national coding camps on ICT initiatives, digital, robotics and different programming languages involving young girls, to address gender mainstreaming issues.
Develop a standardized training system for all national coding camps under AGCCI and ensure that the online platform supports the training and sharing.
Raise the awareness of Member States on AGCCI activities/results and solicit commitment for national implementation by targeted countries.
Mobilize the private sector and potential partners including the media to create an AGCCI network of supporters in African countries
The African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) was commissioned by UN Women and the African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The first phase of AGCCI, was launched in 2018 supported by the Denmark Embassy in Ethiopia and completed in 2019 marking a list of great achievements.
The initiative aims to train and empower young girls aged between 17-25, across Africa to become computer programmers, creators, and designers, placing them on track to take up studies and careers in the information, communication and technology (ICT), education and coding sectors.
The initiative has two key strategies namely: 1) coding camps and 2) mainstreaming ICT, coding, and gender into the national curricula. Moreover, it promotes the implementation of national media campaigns involving role models (e.g. women in ICT, female teachers in schools) and utilizes an on-line platform to enhance networking among the girls, trainers and mentors.