Digital Skills Inclusion
After many months of planning, we are finally here. The Digital Skills Professional Development project was officially launched last week with all 10 participants eagerly anticipating the process of becoming the new digital entrepreneurs of Livingstone.
This new project will run for a period of one year, with many exciting, educational and inspirational activities lined up, from hackathons to digital job fairs. Ten school leavers were carefully selected from the underserved communities of Livingstone, including Dambwa, Maramba, Nyenya, Nakatindi and Libuyu. The training course will produce first class multiple skill set developers who will be able to create web pages, applications and databases, exploring a range of digital technologies to be able to make technical decisions important for their future.
Youth unemployment is already as high as 21%, with school leavers already feeling unprepared for work due to negative perceptions of their skills and knowledge
Next week when schools reopen, we will start an introduction to coding course for a further 180 students aged 12-16. The projects’ main objective is to help inspire and empower young people with the digital skills that will help them change the narrative and help the communities they are coming from.
We are happy to have the support of the Pestalozzi International Foundation, a charity which offers life-changing opportunities to young people from underprivileged communities around the world. With the passion, drive and interest from these young people, we hope to achieve so much more together in the coming months. We hope to empower ambassadors who will in turn share the knowledge gained with other community members and use technology to make people’s lives better in Zambia.
