December 27, 2022
Transforming teaching and learning opportunities by creating platforms that provide tools, skills and knowledge that upgrade learner centeredness and equip students with relevant skills to compete globally is essential.
The DreamOval Foundation continues in its mandate to support the provision of quality education to Ghanaian youth through its programming and partnerships. This year, the Foundation has increased the capacity of several educators and Ghanaian youth and provided relevant resources and skills to enable them achieve more within and outside the classroom.
The acquisition and application of digital skills has become a necessity particularly for the youth. Globalisation, and the need to create entrepreneurial opportunities through the acquisition of technological skills has increased focus on the provision of relevant digital skills for Ghanaian youth.
The DreamOval Foundation continues to create opportunities for the acquisition of digital skills by Ghanaian students through the Africa Code Week program. In partnership with SAP, Irish Aid, UNESCO and Camden Education, the DreamOval Foundation provides thousands of Ghanaian students with knowledge and skills in coding using the Scratch programming language. This year 95,000 students across Ghana were taught how to code using Scratch.
Since 2018, the DreamOval Foundation has offered thousands of Ghanaian educators free training and resources in coding through the Africa Code Week Train the Trainer program. The program is an initiative by SAP to expand access to digital skills and opportunities across Africa.
This year 1,035 teachers across the 16 regions of Ghana participated in a 7 day training program in Scratch Programming. Participants were trained by experts and provided with the necessary resources to enable them continue to learn and apply the skills obtained.
Demystifying concerns about the difficulties in coding and programming is essential to building interest in the acquisition of digital skills and knowledge. The DreamOval Foundation continues to create platforms and opportunities for more Ghanaian youth to acquire relevant digital skills and apply the skills acquired.
Through the African Code Challenge, an initiative by SAP, Ghanaian youth are offered the opportunity to apply the digital skills and knowledge they have acquired by addressing issues in their communities or around them in an exciting competition. This year, participants had the opportunity to code on the theme “Protecting Life Together”. At the end of 2022, three (3) finalists will be selected to represent Ghana at the pan African stage of the event.
The Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize (GSTEP) Challenge is an initiative aimed at offering 20,000 Ghanaian youth the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Using the challenge prize model, teams consisting of 4-6 members, identify and develop solutions that address problems in their communities or the society at large using STEM.
This year out of 800 applications, 50 finalist teams were selected to participate in the Challenge. In preparation towards the development of their prototype of their solutions, the teams were taken through a series of workshops, provided with mentors, coaches and resources and had the opportunity to participate in a series of practical activities in STEM. Winners of the GSTEP Challenge will be announced in January 2023. The GSTEP Challenge is funded by Fondation Botnar and implemented in partnership with Challenge Works, Foundervine, MEST Africa and DEXT Technology.