(Blog) When young Africans innovate…

Rewind to early 2024: the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Google signed an agreement to support digital transformation in Africa focusing on four collaboration tracks: Digital Skills Development, AI Policy Research, Cybersecurity & Content Responsibilities, and E-commerce and Digital Trade. As part of its mission as one of the United Nations’ five regional commissions, ECA fosters regionwide partnerships that promote economic and social development, intraregional integration, and support international cooperation for Africa’s 54 Member States. Among key priorities for ECA’s human capital development is bridging the digital divide, particularly among young women and girls, to build essential digital and STEAM powered skills.

In his opening address during the partnership signing ceremony on the margins of the 2024 edition of the Africa Business Forum, H.E. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary at ECA, noted that “the potential of Africa’s digital economy is enormous. However, realizing this potential rests on closing critical gaps in digital skills. We must find workable answers to critical questions, such as how do we bridge the gap for the 650 million workers that need to be trained or retrained in digital skills by 2030.”

For future skills to match the ecosystem for quality jobs, particularly in AI, African students need an arena to apply their skills and explore what lies beyond the ‘good enough’ horizon. This is where the fun and challenge factors brought in by global competitions steps in.

Together, partners selected the World Robot Olympiad as a trusted non-profit framework to achieve their goals, taking young African learners to the next level of CS learning fostering digital, creative and problem-solving skills every step of the way. According to the WRO annual report, WRO participants code for roughly 65 hours before a regional event – and many more for national and international events! Research conducted by WRO Germany also says that 79% of competing students develop problem-solving skills. Competing on a global stage alongside teams from all corners of the world is also a great way for young people to celebrate their achievements nationwide and continent-wide.

When students compete, they face real-world problems that require creative and innovative local solutions. They become more inquisitive, research independently, solve problems, learn to work with others and strive to do more than is required. They reach the next level of learning to think logically, test their thinking in teams, learn to present their research, and be creative and resilient – quite a priceless portfolio in the future workplace where workers are to solve increasingly complex challenges and socio-economic equations.

This year, students’ mission, should they accept it, is no smooth sailing: ethical, societal, environmental, and legal waves will be theirs to navigate as they dive deep into this year’s “Earth Allies” theme and investigate how robots can help us live in harmony with nature.

While some countries like Nigeria and Zimbabwe are already chanting their homecoming heroes, more teams of young innovators are currently forming and gearing up towards their national competition in 14 countries. After several days of technical fun and intensive team work, winning teams are selected in each country. But that’s not it: some of the winners will be traveling to Izmir, Turkey, on November 28, 2024 to compete on the global WRO stage with winning teams from each of the 90 participating countries.

The Camden Education Trust is the third partner actively supporting the digital skills component of the ECA-Google Partnership agreement. This not-for-profit company with Charitable Status based in Ireland is bringing its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) expertise and best-practices for scaling education projects into the equation.

While such competitions are a great way to foster intra-African cooperation in STEAM education, the Google-ECA agreement also aims to institutionalize the latter in each participating country. Hence the Continuing Professional Development program developed by partners to onboard educators and equip them with the robotics materials and skills they need to organize the national WRO competitions in their own country. As partners scale this CPD across Sub-Saharan Africa, they also engage with governments and education systems to secure policy support for CS and STEAM education from policymakers.

Who’s next on the WRO agenda? Ethiopia. Partners are currently working with STEMpower to train over 600 youths in robotics across the 40 STEM centers located in Addis Ababa and other regions ahead of the national WRO competition.