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Introduction/Background
Africa has approximately 750 million people with
over 50% of its population less than 20yrs; an indication
of the large human resource that needs to be recognised
and tapped in building national policies and infrastructure.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr.
Kofi Annan was right in the Millennium Declaration
when he stated:
"Young people should be at the forefront of global
change and innovation. Empowered, they can be the
key agents for development and peace. If, how ever,
they are left on society's margins, all of us will
be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people
have every opportunity to participate fully in the
lives of their societies".
The 21st Century has brought with it a new revolution,
the Information and Knowledge Revolution, which
has made the world a global village. Concretely it
is depicted as the Information and Communication Technology
(ICT); a pervasive tool that is Africa's last chance
and has a solution to our national and continental
problems.
Our society is plagued with countless problems aware
to all of us including poverty, malnutrition, unemployment,
famine, delayed planning, civil wars just to mention
a few. The pervasiveness of ICT has demonstrated also
its usefulness in nation building as seen in the developed
nations and or economies. " Why are we still called
a Least Developed Country (LDC) while glaring at us
is the positive evidence of applications of ICT and
a great opportunity to transform this tag. It will
take a while but we believe the time to initiate something
is now or never.
Our conviction after a careful study of national
economies of developed nations is that, there is a
national commitment to ICT human capacity and infrastructure
development thus making it a visible pillar in its
yearly programmes and budgets. Gladdened that the
government of Ghana recognizes this and as part of
its commitment, is spearheading an exhibition and
conference named "ICT for Government" (Jan
2003) which aims at enhancing the digitization initiation
being undertaken by government. Clearly the official
document released by Computer and Technology News
(CTN) for the event stated:
"The government of Ghana has recognised for a
long time that the key to sustained economic development
lies within Information Technology. However the
initiative to harness this tool has only recently
be embarked upon and there is a clear urgency to
catch up".
Ghana and African governments can and should take
advantage of this opportunity to develop its human
capacity/youth – tomorrows leaders-to manage
and sustain the reverse process of national economic
downturns and position itself strategically in this
era of globalisation and free market economies. This
opportunity was ripe when at the United Nations General
Assembly, on 21st December 2001 adopted a resolution
(A/RES/56/183) which charged the UN Secretary General,
Kofi Annan with the ITU to hold the World Summit on
Information Society (WSIS) for the world's nations
to develop a global framework to deal with the challenges
posed by the information society, and fully and equally
take advantage of the opportunities it presents. The
role of the youth was very strategic in the planning
and in the WSIS Youth document, Creating
Your Own National Youth Campaign it stated:
"If there was an area where young people are the
leaders not only of the future, but also today,
it is the emerging information society. From web
development to information access, we are growing
up the latest technologies- and extending them,
providing innovative solutions to global challenges".
Ghana needs to develop its youth through strategic
decision-making, policies formulation, programme design
and implementation, which should obviously be led,
by the youth.
The conviction and motivation
A positive impact of a united youth front in the
applications of ICT to national development coupled
with readiness to spearhead the revolution.
Outcome
CatchITYoung – an Information Technology youth
initiative for the youth by the youth to bridge the
digital divide.
Executive Summary
The Ghana Digital Project seeks to expand computer
and Internet access to all Ghanaian schools at an
accelerated pace. A highly revered initiative, CatchITYoung
has been developed to add more value by fully utilizing
the potential of the very expensive infrastructure
to be deployed and to already existing ones –
Science Resource Centers and Computer Laboratories.
CatchITYoung – Information Technology Clubs
in first and second cycle schools in Ghana –
is a platform and strategy to ensure youth empowerment
by developing youth readiness to promote quality and
visible contribution to national development through
the use of ICT tools.
It is the brainchild of oneVillage Foundation-Ghana
and supported by International Young Professionals
Foundation (IYPF)-Ghana, both working under a
unified umbrella, the African Youth Initiative
(AYI) – a joint youth effort at addressing
the numerous problems of our beloved mother Africa
through the use of Information and Communication Technology.
CatchITYoung will pilot with thirty (30) students
each in both first and cycle schools with ten from
each level i.e. ten (10) first year, ten (10) second
year and ten (10) third year. In the second cycle,
it will comprise a fair representation of students
from all disciplines (Science, Business, Agriculture,
Arts, Home Economics, Technical etc.). At both educational
levels, respect for gender balance will be prominent
to cater for equal inclusion of both sexes.
Volunteers who are Information Technology (IT) professional,
will visit the school at least once a month to teach
the members using the designed course outline. On
the same day, the volunteer(s) will run a separate
teaching session or workshop for the patrons from
both first and second cycle schools to continue managing
the clubs at least once a week before his/her next
visit. Volunteers will be got from Computer Science
Associations of tertiary Institutions, National Service
Secretariat, Global Research Information Network (GRIN),
Private Recognized Educational Institutions, Private
Sector and the general volunteering public. Designing
and managing school websites, digitizing school data,
searching for information and communicating over the
Internet, developing good citizenship behaviour, partaking
in local and international competitions and events
etc., will form the core of club activities.
Termly exercises and projects, radio and or television
quiz programmes will help evaluate, motivate and sustain
competition, develop and expose talents whilst setting
youth role models for the youth. Educational excursions
for both members and patrons will be embarked upon
to expose applications of ICT, network with IT professionals
for mentorship to enhance performance, relate theory
lessons to practical experience, etc.
Yearly summits will be held to network with other
CatchITYoung members nationwide to showcase projects,
discuss national ICT policies and projects for input
making, develop and adopt youth strategies for contribution
into and solving Ghana's problems using ICT, instill
entrepreneurship skills as a means of addressing the
increasing yearly unemployment statistics, just to
mention a few.
Based on a scientific analysis of the pilot project,
corrective measures will be adopted, and mechanisms
set to expand CatchITYoung nationwide to sustain the
Ghana Digital Project and Information and Communications
Technology as a main pillar in Ghana's development.
Objectives
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1.
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To inculcate basic computer literacy, various
office user applications, web design, database
management etc. in the youth who are the nation's
future and tomorrow's leaders.
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2.
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To provide minimal universal Internet access
to valuable information and data as a catalyst
to expanding knowledge.
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3.
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To compliment and support the national human
capacity development efforts by building a platform
to absorb and develop individual talents and
contributions using ICT, for the realisation
of Ghana's vision.
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4.
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Improve computer skills and IT knowledge for
teachers (club Patrons) by increasing computer
contact and Internet access hours through access
to computer laboratories and partner ICT service
providers.
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5.
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To bridge the intra digital divide (rural-urban
access) as a means to consequently bridging
the divide between nations.
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Mission
This project seeks to:
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1.
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Build a cream of youth abreast with Information
Technology development trends and applications
in Ghanaian schools, as a means to develop the
human capacity base needed for the socio-economic
development of Ghana.
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2.
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Add value to the existing Science Resource
Centers and Computer laboratories in first and
second cycle schools in Ghana.
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3.
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Provide a supporting strategy for the development
of Ghana's Digital Project.
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4.
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Augment the Ministry of Education's vision
of introducing and making Information Technology
examinable at the Pre-tertiary level in Ghana
by adding more value to it through the training
of members in the applications and or use of
the technology.
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5.
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Create youth mentors and role models for the
youth.
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6.
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Cultivate volunteerism and patriotism in our
youth; a necessary ingredient in national development.
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7.
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Empower the youth to take responsibility of
personal and national development.
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Vision
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1.
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Create and support a group of young professionals
in various disciplines, knowledgeable in Information
Technology to help address Ghana's socio-economic
problems.
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2.
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Develop human capacity always ready to support
the private as well public institutions in Ghana.
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3.
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Export the knowledge and practical experience
to generate foreign exchange to support our
economy.
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4.
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Build an institute to support the development
of Ghanaian database, software and other IT
products to address our peculiar needs.
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5.
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Increase access to information and communication
by providing reliable Internet access to the
youth.
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6.
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Develop and sustain a uniform and credible
system of certifying Information Technology
professionals.
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