40 employees from Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea have gathered in Accra to take part in the company’s annual Employee Volunteer Programme (EVP). The week-long initiative, which is aimed at empowering young girls with future-focused ICT skills, has been carried out in partnership with Better World.
Each year, Samsung employees dedicate their time and skills to an initiative which they feel will add value to one of the regions in which the company operates. As part of this year’s programme, staff members will impart their skills and expertise to young Ghanaian girls through the handover of a new Samsung-funded ICT Centre at the Accra Bishop Girls Junior High School.
“It’s important for our people to be actively involved with the education initiatives we are rolling out across Africa. Not only are they able to impart considerable value through their time and expertise but it also provides them with the opportunity to witness first-hand the difference their combined involvement in Samsung is making to the lives of others,” says Mr Eungjin Nahm, Samsung Electronics West Africa – Ghana. Both a primary and junior high school, Accra Bishop Girls’ School, has a total of 760 students. Though ICT currently forms part of the school’s curriculum, it has historically been forced to rely on textbooks for its education purposes as a result of its lack of ICT facilities.
Through the new facility, learners will now have the opportunity to acquire and enhance technological skills vital to the new digital economy. This is particularly important when it comes to future generations of young women. We know based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report that there is still a 47% global gender gap when it comes to STEM graduates at tertiary level. “Samsung is passionate about helping to further the development of STEM and ICT skills among women and we hope that through this initiative and others like it, we will be able to make a positive difference in the lives of many young African women,” says Tracy Kyei, Marketing Executive, Samsung Electronics West Africa – Ghana. The new Centre is an extension of the electronics provider’s involvement in the education sector in Ghana and its inauguration was attended by representative of the Mayor, Richard Kwame Odoro.
Just last year Samsung opened a Smart School in the Bole region and Eguafu District to provide teachers with basic computer literacy skills. It also launched the Female Professionals in Electronics project in Ghana, in partnership with GIZ and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Samsung has been very active in the education space in Africa in general through the roll out of Smart Schools, Solar-Powered Internet Schools, Technical Programmes and Engineering Academies.
“The staff of Samsung are very excited to be involved in this year’s EVP in Ghana. We are passionate about advancing ICT skills among young women in Africa and view this as another important touch point through which we hopefully can make a far-reaching impact,” concludes Ms Judith Kelechi, Corporate Citizenship Manager, Samsung Electronics West Africa.
