Nation
6000 Youths To Undergo ICT Training In Kogi
More than 6,000 youths drawn from the 21 local government areas in Kogi are to be trained on ICT appreciation.
The Coordinator of the programme, Mr Adeyemi Bode-George, told newsmen in Lokoja on Friday that the month-long training was aimed at making the youths to be self-reliant.
He said the modalities for the training were being discussed with the state government and other stakeholders under the Private- Public Partnership (PPP) initiative.
Bode-George said the programme was aimed at empowering youths, through capacity development, as part of efforts to check criminal activities and unemployment among them.
He said that 30 ICT specialists were being deployed for the training in entrepreneural skills, including Website Development, Graphic Design, computer and GSM repairs and sales, solar technology and V-Sat installation.
Bode-George said the project tagged, “1st Kogi ICT Youth Employment/Entrepreneurship Bootcamp and Exhibition,” would be conducted in Anyigba, Kabba and Okene.
The training is under the auspices of the African ICT Youth Capacity Development Project.
Mr James Williams, the Managing Director of Port-Harcourt- based Maximum Insight Global Services, the consulting firm handling the project, stressed the need to equip youths to fight poverty, unemployment and insecurity.
“Armed robberies, assassinations, kidnapping, religious violence and urban gangster activities are no longer strange occurences in our society,” he noted, adding that the project was aimed at curbing criminal tendencies.
Williams said that some 60,000 youths in the North Central states would be gainfully employed at the end of the training.
He said the training would be replicated in states in the zone.
The Chairman of Kogi chapter of the National Youth Council, Mr S. B. Godwin, said the training would be beneficial to the youth.
He said that out of the 1.7 million youths in the state, only 500,000 were gainfully employed.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
