Ubuntu Valley

Youth empowerment and technology are presently at the heart of political, economic, development and human rights discussions. The fact that women especially women of color are underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields is well documented globally. Africa has also recognized the need for capitalizing on the increasing young population which is clearly stipulated by the 2017 African Union theme of “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth”.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a historic and universally agreed commitment for girls and women adopted by the Heads of States and Governments in September 2015.  The African Union has also iterated its commitment to the socio-economic development and rights of girls through the AU’s Agenda 2063 as well as the 2016 AU theme “African Year of Human Rights with a particular focus on the Rights of Women” as well as AU’s Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The AU team for 2017 “Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth” also provides a unique opportunity to put the issue of girls and young women at the heart of continental agenda and efforts.

“Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work” is also the 61^st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) which will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 2017. All these global, regional and national commitments and ambitious targets for girls represent key milestones in ensuring the rights and economic empowerment of girls and young women.

Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps at work are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development but investments and innovations that ensure economic opportunities for girls are yet underdeveloped. Empowering of Girls through technology is key to accelerate such progress and enable girls engage in traditionally male-dominated spheres to develop new technologies to be used by young girls and for girls aimed at advancing their socio-economic integration.

The United States Mission to UNESCO developed the “Teach Her” Master Teacher Training  workshop through a new public-­private partnership, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity-­ Building  in  Africa (IICBA), other     UNESCO Member States, the Institute of International Education (IIE), the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA), and other            leading             NGO and private sector  partners such as Microsoft and Fitbit. IICBA was responsible for the technical organization of the workshop and brought together the regional partners.

Ethiopia is also one of the African countries with a lot of girls and young women denied of opportunities to thrive in several socio-economic platforms including Since, Technology, Engineering and Math fields. There are several encouraging initiatives to address the issue and the launch of Technovation in Ethiopia takes such efforts to another level through providing a state-of the art hands-on training, mentorship and supporting Ethiopian girls participate in world’s largest and longest running tech competition for girls.

Sara Tabit, Founder and Managing Director of Ethio Mosaic Events and Festivals, is a Regional Ambassador for Technovation in Ethiopia and has been in touch with the Global Technovation Ambassador who is very excited to support the launching of Technovation in Ethiopia. Synergy Habesha Films and Communications is a collaborative organization that implements Technovation event and its reality TV show. The International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) is support the program with financial and technical support. UNESCO (IICBA) is one of the seven UNESCO’s education institutes and centers, was officially established by the UNESCO General Conference in October, 1999. The institute is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As the only UNESCO Institute in Africa, it is mandated to strengthen the capacities of teacher education institutions of its 54 Member States. From Access to equality “Empowering Girls and Women through Literacy and Secondary Education”, UNESCO IICBA points to innovative partnerships involving a broad range of stakeholders, including in the field of Women’s literacy and the use of technology.