CITAD, Lenovo Partner to Empower 200 Girls on Digital Creativity and Innovation

By Rabiu Musa

HOTPEN – No fewer than 200 young girls and women in Kano state benefited from Digital Creativity and Innovation training organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD to revamp the entrepreneurial spirit as a critical factor for sustainable development.

The Centre said the program is designed to empower young girls to have access to digital skills to address the gender digital divide and reduce poverty in Nigeria.

Engr. Kamal Umar, who is the Technical Officer of the Centre, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Kano.

HotPen reports that the capacity-building training which took place at Hall B, CITAD main office in Kano, titled; “The Challenges of Seedling and Nurturing Creativity and Innovation Among Young Women” had Prof. Asabe S. Muhammad, Provost Aminu Saleh College of Education, Azare as the Chair of Occasion, Dr. Sana Maaz from the department of Software Engineering, Bayero University, Kano.

Others include: Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu, Assistant Editor, HumaAngle Media, and Aisha Bako, Chief Executive Officer, Onyx Investment Advisory Limited, Abuja.

Engr. Kamal opined that “Empowering young girls to have access to digital skills is one way to addressing the gender digital divide in the country”.

He said “bridging the digital divide will contribute to the greater empowerment of women to overcome gender marginalization, unemployment, and poverty”. Kamal revealed that the training will significantly assist young women in the de-feminization of poverty and avail them with an opportunity to contribute to their bid for wealth creation.

Addressing the participants during the training, Dr. Sana Maaz went down memory lane and explained to the young women the importance of entrepreneurship in the current tides of technology and self-reliance as a woman.

Dr. Sana recounts her ordeal as a woman in a family of 9 with a single male child in the ancient city of Kano and how she defeated stereotypical maxim associated with women in Northern Nigeria.

Mr. Maaz counseled the young women to develop an open mindset and become drivers of innovation not passengers of it. She noted with dismay the presence of human capital (Seedling) and lack of spirit in nurturing young girls in our societies.

Highlighting the challenges young women are experiencing in nurturing creativity and Innovation in Nigeria, Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu, one of the leading panelist laments how Cultural, Religious and Political milieus among other significant barriers are discouraging digital creativity and innovation among young women.

Aliyu echoed the need to carry everyone along in respect of gender in the current paradigm shift from analog to digital technologies on businesses in the world.

He attributed lack of incentives, motivation, and role models for young women as part of the barriers hindering them to start businesses. Aliyu further advised young women to leverage on digital technologies for wealth creation.