SENEGAL GOVT. ENCOURAGES WOMEN INTO THE IT INDUSTRY |高等教育.IT產業培訓 塞內加爾女力崛起

Women in Senegal are being empowered to work in the IT industry through a unique computer coding club supported by the government. It's another step towards breaking down barriers and stereotypes for young women in African countries. A group of women arrived at Dakar University for a day of classes. In Senegal, more and more women now enroll in universities to receive higher education. Recently, the Senegal government has been encouraging females to take an interest in information technology by providing opportunities for women to learn coding. ==BITILOKHO N'DIAYE, adviser, tech gender, Min. of Posts and Telecom.== We have always believed in the potential of girls and that they needed a boost. I have worked with our team to drive this potential and show that in Senegal that we have young girls who were talented and could provide more in the development of our country by using technology. Senegal hopes that through government-supported programs, women can defy stereotypes long held about education and their gender, which is under-represented In Senegal's IT sector. Now, technology helps to break down barriers for 24 year-old Nellya Maylis and her three friends. They have created an app called Sigestes, which aims to resolve the long running issue of land disputes in Senegal by thwarting scammers who try to sell land that does not really belong to them. Many could not believe that the app was created by an all-female team. ==NELLYA MAYLIS, co-creator of Sigestes== People are surprised and amazed at the same time; they say the girls did this and this drives them to talk to us. If it were boys, they would not be paying attention, they would say, they just developed an application. The fact that it is four women, not three girls and a boy, people say wow: we have to go see it. The creators of Sigestes not only attracted a lot of attention for their coding efforts but also for their fashion sense. ==AIDA MANSOUR LO, co-creator of Sigestes== It's not because we're scientists that we dress differently: people just have snapshots. Usually people ask me if I am really a scientist, because I have a different style, I look like a literary (person). Senegal is embracing the tech industry. A 25-hectare digital technology park is under construction in the new town of Diamniadio. The African Development Bank has approved US$78 million towards the building of the park, which is expected to generate 35,000 direct jobs and 105,000 indirect jobs by 2025. TRANSLATED BY：ARIEL HSIEH