AU Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) is leveraging ICT and STEM to empower young women and drive socio-economic development. CESA re
AU Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) is leveraging ICT and STEM to empower young women and drive socio-economic development.
CESA recognized five young women at the Innovating Education Expo as a testament to the transformative impact of STEM education on communities. The young women in Africa have been awarded for their efforts towards achieving ‘Aspiration 6’ of Agenda 2063 which calls for a continent whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children.
Women empowerment
The Expo held in August, identified two top winners from the eleven innovators awarded. This is a demonstration that empowering girls and young women, through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), can play a key role in bringing solutions to daily challenges in the societies and give young women the possibility of becoming the drivers leading change in their communities.
The strides by the young women contributes towards the work of the African Union International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) whose mission is to empower girls and women through education, in line with the strategic objective 6 of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) which aims to “accelerate processes leading to gender parity and equity”.
Through the Innovation Education Expo, AU/CIEFFA shed light on the work of these talented young women, the impact on their communities and how STEM significantly transformed them. The Centre had the opportunity to closely follow five of the innovators (from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa) who attended the Expo and showcased what they have been doing in their respective countries.