The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has held a mentorship session for the 1000 participants in the Eastern Region as part of the national girls-in-ICT programme’s commemorative activities.
The mentorship session aims to groom the girls in life skills, and career development, and to encourage them to consider the opportunities in Information Communication Technology (ICT), Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The mentors were all career women drawn from the ICT industry, Telecommunications, Cyber Security Authority, Manners on Point, and past beneficiaries of the Girls-In-ICT programme.
The chairperson of the event, Okyehemaa Nana Adutwumwaa Dokua, advised the girls to take their education seriously and urged them to consider pursuing ICT in their future educational careers.
She also encouraged the students to be confident and courageous, maintain a positive attitude, and have a strong sense of self-esteem to choose their career paths and develop their skills in the ICT field.
The programme’s goal is to bridge the gender gap in the study of ICT at the senior high school and tertiary education levels.
On her part, Ama Bawa, the Director of Child Online Protection at the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), informed the girls about research conducted in 2016 that revealed two out of ten students have met someone they first encountered online, while three out of ten have experienced issues related to cyber security.
She explained that cyberbullying involves the use of abusive text, emails, the exclusion, or humiliation of others online. She emphasized that online groomers and sexual predators often use tactics such as fake accounts, flattering words, intimacy-building, and desensitization, among others.
She urged the students to refrain from the abusive use of their phones, and be cautious about what they share, like, or comment on in the online space. She also advised them about sextortion and online dating.
Ama stressed the importance of using strong passwords, keeping profiles private, not sharing nude photos, being cautious about meeting strangers online, not sharing personal information, and not granting app permissions without verification.