In celebration of World Teachers Day, SAP Africa Code Week (ACW) officially launched its exciting 2022 program with an online panel discussion. This year’s World Teachers Day theme: “the transformation of education begins with teachers,” marked the occasion, which hosted key partners and international speakers from SAP, UNESCO, ADEA and the Camden Education Trust.
Since 2015, ACW has firmly positioned itself as Africa’s biggest digital skills program. This year’s initiative will continue to reach all corners of Africa, leaving no child or youth behind. The 2022 rollout includes ambitious plans to partner closely with policymakers and governments to help transform Africa’s education agenda by adding digital literacy to the national curricula. Currently, nine African countries have officially adopted coding as a mandatory subject in public education[i].
The 2022 launch is the start of ACW’s two-year transition period, where governments will play an even greater role in fostering the adoption of coding in their countries’ schools. The program will continue to reach more communities and countries via in-person and online events. Due to widespread success from previous years, additional ACW programs such as the AfriCAN Code Challenge and the Women Empowerment Program (WEP) will also forge ahead. The former is a pan-African coding competition where youth aged 8 – 16 are tasked with coding a game that can be used to change the future of education. The latter is a unique Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program that equips African female teachers and educators in Computer Science and STEM with the skills and knowledge they need to teach, inspire, mentor, and prepare girls for tomorrow’s tech workplace.
This year’s World Teachers’ Day theme comes amid the World Economic Forum’s prediction that 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030[ii]. ACW’s focus on education transformation aims to curb Africa’s unemployment crisis and create a ripple effect in helping to solve many of the continent’s social and environmental issues, as SAP CSR announced its new commitment to power equitable access to economic opportunity, education and employment and a green economy. Through ACW, SAP and partners are on a mission to inspire a new generation of African youth through digital skills development and empower teachers and communities with digital teaching tools to create a more equitable and sustainable future.
To get involved in this year’s Africa Code Week program or for further information, visit www.africacodeweek.org or write to ambassadors@africacodeweek.org
[i] https://www.adeanet.org/en/news/new-innovations-help-sap-africa-code-week-inspire-next-generation-african-coders#:~:text=In%20a%20survey%20conducted%20in,incorporate%20coding%20within%20their%20curricula
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[ii] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/africa-needs-digital-skills-across-the-economy-not-just-tech-sector/