Women today have the power to change society through technology to iron out existing global challenges.

Catherine Russell, the ambassador at large for Global Woman’s Issues, delivered the message, yesterday, during the opening of the Women in Science Camp for Girls (Wisci) at Gashora Girls Academy in Bugesera.Rusell said since technology is at the heart of innovations and girls who are actively involved have the power to be strong entrepreneurs.

 "Through networking and innovations, girls can become strong women around the globe. This camp is an opportunity for girls to advance in science and technology,” Rusell said.

More than 120 girls from the US and eight African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and hosts Rwanda will engage in programming and robotics, among others, during the camp that will run for three weeks in Gashora.

Rusell also commended Rwanda’s efforts of keeping the girl child in school at all levels but maintained that quality education is key to solving women’s challenges despite the school dropouts.

"School dropouts are some of the challenges around the world, but we can focus on ideas that can help women move forward and participate in the countries’ economies. We should keep girls in good schools too,” she added.

Erica Barks-Ruggles, the US ambassador to Rwanda, also urged women to have resilience in case they face any failures when conducting scientific experiments.

"As you think of new ideas not all experiments will be simple, there are failures along the way but these will open up more opportunities,” Barks-Ruggles said.

‘Shatter the myth of girl power’

Meanwhile, Dr Papias Musafiri, the minister for education, said the government cannot realise its goals without ensuring that girls are promoted through education especially in technological disciplines.

Musafiri pointed out that just like boys, girls offering science courses can do better.

"Girls have the capacity of doing greater things and they can do it even better than the boys. They should not fear engaging in disciplines such as programming and robotics,” Dr Musafiri said.

He added that promoting girls education is in line with the country’s development strategy of creating a knowledge based economy.

"Equal access to education means more girls going to school and looking at our numbers in secondary you will realise that the number of girls is almost equal to that of boys,” he added.

Oda Gasinzigwa, the minister for gender and family promotion, called for more parental involvement in girl’s education as one way to promote female innovations.

"We always urge parents to get involved at the cell level to discuss any challenges facing girls at least once a month and they should endeavor to do so as a step to iron out challenges,” Gasinzigwa said.

Kamwere Wangira, a representative of Microsoft, said technological innovations have already connected 17,000 youths in Africa and girls should be part of the story.

"We encourage you to be drivers of the digital economy. In the past, people did not have computers but today you study with the computer,” Wangira said.

Over the next three weeks, a diverse group of participants will take part in a challenging, hands-on curriculum taught by industry professionals on computer science, robotics, entrepreneurship, and design.

Participants will partake in cultural exchanges, develop their own projects, and build leadership and entrepreneurial skills. After the camp, the participants will have access to mentorship and continued opportunities for support and professional development.

The camp is a public-private partnership designed to advance and expand Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics opportunities for girls.

The project is led by the US Department of State, through its office of Global Partnerships under the patronage of the Rwanda Ministry of Education.

The summer camp is part of the US First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative.

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