Intel furthers ICT Education for Girls and Women in Africa

In celebration of the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl on October 11,Intel Corporation expanded its global commitment to furthering education for girls and women. Millions of girls around the world have limited or no access to education. Intel believes that broader access to education for girls and women will significantly speed up social progress and help drive worldwide economic growth.

In Africa, Intel visited three schools on the continent to host talks about how important it is for girls to break the cycle of generational poverty and to interact with the girls by hosting a quiz with giveaways. Intel paid visits to St Barnabas Secondary School in Johannesburg, Ruai Girls High School in Nairobi and Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls in Lagos where it invited notable Nigerian women in ICT like Engineer Florence Seriki, Managing Director, Omatek Computers, Ms Oreoluwa Somolu, Executive Director of W.TEC and Mrs Ufuoma Emuophedaro, Publisher,E-business life magazine who took turns to educate and inspire about 200 teenage girls in Junior secondary classes to consider a career in information and communications technology.

The message from Joseph Nsengimana, Intel South Africa’s Education lead at the schools, was clear – when a woman is educated and schooled to develop a successful career, many of these very same girls and women will reinvest up to 90 percent of their income back into their communities. “Further, if we were to see 10 percent more girls going to school, the country’s GDP has the potential to increase by three percent.”

“Intel has worked for decades to improve education around the world,” says Nsengimana. “If we can close the education gap with girls, we will have transformed their lives and the lives of everyone they touch.”

Through access to technology, scholarships and community learning programs, he says Intel’s programmes such as Intel Learn, Intel Teach and Intel Easy Steps provides girls and women with opportunities for quality education and personal growth. Intel’s programmes equip women with the access to the information they need to excel. With a 21st century skill set and a new found level of confidence, girls and women can advance their ideas and personal drive to change their lives.

In this increasingly global economy, Intel recognizes that curiosity, critical thinking and a strong foundation in math and science are necessary for tomorrow’s workforce to compete for the high-tech jobs of the 21st century. Over the past decade alone, Intel globally along with the Intel Foundation have invested more than $1 billion, and Intel employees have donated close to three million volunteer hours toward improving education in more than 60 countries.

To further celebrating the day, Intel is partnering with 10×10, a global action campaign that seeks to educate and empower girls around the world. Their full-length feature film, “Girl Rising,” 10×10’s is the centre piece of this campaign and reveals the extraordinary stories of real girls tackling nearly impossible odds on the road to education. Scheduled for a March premiere, the documentary amplifies the importance of investing in girls and aims to increase understanding and empathy so people are compelled to take action.