World Teacher's Day, celebrated on 5 October provides an excellent opportunity to honor the remarkable contributions of teachers worldwide. From instilling a love for learning to imparting valuable life lessons, teachers leave an unforgettable mark on their students' lives. Their dedication and passion inspire us all to strive for excellence, making them true champions of education. Under the theme "The teachers we need for the education we want: The imperative to reverse the teacher shortage," 2023’s celebrations emphasise the critical importance of halting the decline in teacher numbers and prioritising efforts to strengthen their presence internationally.

What are the potential consequences of a reduced number of teachers?

While this concern is relevant on a global scale, it’s particularly relevant to the African continent. Data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics indicates that the most significant deficits in teaching personnel are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, posing a significant risk to the continent's development. The region requires approximately 17 million teachers in total to realise the goal of universal primary and secondary education by 2030.

This basic education predicament also affects young people’s acquisition of future skills—a formidable barrier to their employment prospects and potential. According to a report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), approximately 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will demand digital skills by 2030. While these figures may seem daunting, they also fuel our desire to continue to innovate and drive greater change, while reflecting on the profound impact of SAP's philanthropic efforts.

How do we reverse the teacher shortage?

In 2022 alone, our SAP Africa Code Week programme actively engaged over +2.6 million participants, equipping them with indispensable 21st century skills. Through an impressive tally of 37,121 workshops spanning the continent, it's encouraging to note that over 48% of participants were female, furthering our commitment to gender equality. We also extended this transformative opportunity to 9,900 young individuals with special needs, nurturing their growth and potential.

While this programme has made remarkable strides, challenges persist. Without teachers who can impart 21st century learning skills to students, the continent risks creating a digital divide that could stifle economic growth and limit opportunities for its young population. SAP Africa Code Week's Women Empowerment Programme (WEP) is making a significant impact in this regard. This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme equips African female teachers and educators in Computer Science and STEM with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully teach, inspire, mentor, and prepare girls for tomorrow’s tech workplace. The WEP thereby supports ACW’s ambitious plans to transform the continent’s education system by including digital literacy in national curricula—in line with the work of United Nations SDGs 4, 5 and 17.

In addition to this, Africa Code Week's Train-the-Trainer sessions are an integral component of the programme's mission to equip educators with the knowledge and skills needed to teach coding and digital literacy to students across the continent. These sessions serve as a capacity-building initiative designed to create a network of skilled trainers who can, in turn, train teachers and students in their local communities. By providing educators with specialised training in coding and digital literacy, they can enhance their teaching capacity. The workshops also equip educators to deliver high-quality instruction in technology-related subjects, which are increasingly important in the 21st century classroom. In addition to this, educators are empowered to go beyond traditional teaching methods. They learn how to incorporate innovative and technology-driven pedagogical approaches into their

classrooms. This not only improves the learning experience for students but also makes teaching more engaging.

Looking ahead

As we reflect on the significance of World Teachers' Day, it is important to remember that teachers are the torchbearers of knowledge, hope, and progress. As we champion equal access to education, we recognise that future skills play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of tomorrow's workforce. By addressing the teacher shortage, upskilling educators in advanced 21st century learning, and promoting digital literacy, we can uplift Africa's youth to shape a brighter future.

For the third consecutive year, Africa Code Week’s AfriCAN Code Challenge (ACC) continues to grow in popularity and reach. The winner of this year’s ACC 2022 edition was handed to the Ravinalo Project developed by Henintsoa, Warren and Shekinah from Madagascar.

“From start to finish, this has been one of the most exciting editions of ACC. The youth of Africa have yet again proven their talents and strong 21st century skillset with creative and conceptual games delivered,” says Olajide Ademola Ajayi, SAP ACW Global Coordinator.

AfriCAN Youth rise for the coding challenge

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is a coding contest that spans across Africa, inviting all-young individuals from different walks of life from 8 - 16 year to develop a game using the Scratch programming language.

This year’s competition saw thousands of entries from more than 30 countries spanning as far as South Africa and Ethiopia. In September 2020, SAP Africa Code Week launched the challenge with support from partners such as UNESCO, Irish Aid, and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA).

Over the years, the competition has evolved into an annual event that celebrates the creativity and technological skills of African youth. For the 2022 challenge, youths were called upon to develop a multiplayer game that proposes a sustainable solution for protecting life. Thereafter, they were asked to create and share a 3-minute YouTube video that details how their game works, the coding techniques used, and how it aligns with the theme and evaluation standards.

The winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge were selected by a distinguished panel consisting of Africa Code Week delegates, SAP employees, and STEM education specialists.

This year’s Top 3 winners:

First place: Madagascar - Ravinalo by Henintsoa, Warren, and Shekinah
Second place: Mauritius - Mission Reboot by Nikhil, Mithil, Seeya, Grace, and Kesha
Third place: Nigeria - Chase 'N' Recycle by Team Techlite

Followed by:

4. Sao Tome & Principe - Saving the World
5. Morocco - Golden Planet
6. Ethiopia - Mission Re
7. Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's Heros
8. South Africa - Eco World
9. Cameroon - Reboisons Notre Terre
10. Gabon - Ntoutoume Evan

Beyond AfriCAN Code Challenge

Research shows that the digital participation could assist in driving the economic growth and development of Africa. This suggests that increased investment in digital infrastructure and skills could have a significant impact on the continent's economic development.

Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior director of EMEA and MEE Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at SAP says, “ACW is currently in a transition period where we will be transferring the ACW curriculum to the ministries of Education to assist in the integration of coding into school curricula. Once they introduce coding into schools, we look forward to seeing sustainable growth in the number of participants in the AfriCAN Code Challenge as ministries will have a wider reach and access to more young people.”

For more information about SAP Africa Code Week and the AfriCAN Code Challenge, or how you can get involved, visit www.africacodeweek.org or connect and follow on social media @AfricaCodeWeek.

To commemorate Cameroon’s annual Youth Day on 11 February 2023, thousands of young people took to the streets to celebrate through parades, cultural dances, singing, and sporting events. As part of the festivities, over 100 young people marched across two different locations, Yaounde and Maroua, carrying the Africa Code Week (ACW) banner.

The importance of equipping young people with digital skills in Cameroon

Recent figures suggest that the youth unemployment rate in Cameroon has remained nearly unchanged at around 6.64 percent for over two years. However, according to projections, Africa’s digital economy will reach $180 billion by 2025 and $712 billion by 2050.

Commenting on the job opportunities created by digital advancements, Claire Gillissen-Duval, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility EMEA MEE at SAP and co-founder of ACW says that Cameroon cannot afford to have young people missing out due to the lack of necessary skills for the digital economy.

 

ACW’s big plans for Cameroon and Africa

Towards the end of 2022, ACW, in partnership with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), hosted a three-day event with a number of African governments in Morocco.

Africa Code Week is proud to announce that not one, but six ACW ambassadors and implementing partners have been selected to join an education and development program by the world’s largest free coding platform, Scratch. Siyafunda Community Technology Centre (South Africa), Girls in STEM Trust (Zimbabwe), MindSet Coders (Uganda), Creativity Lab (Rwanda), OIC Foundation (Nigeria), and Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative (Nigeria) are part of the 91 other organisations from across the globe joining the 2022-2024 Scratch Education Collaborative program (SEC).

The program will include a series of collaborative learning experiences co-developed and co-facilitated by Scratch and partner organizations. Over a period of two years, the organisations will work to create a self-sustaining community of practice and establish models for equity-centred creative coding resources.

Bridging the skills gap in Africa

“Africa is burdened by a massive digital skills gap, which according to the World Economic Forum, is diluting economic opportunities and development. ACW and its partners cannot close this gap alone,” says Olajide Ademola Ajayi, Africa Code Week’s Global Coordinator. “Collaboration is key and seeing ACW ambassadors nominated to join such a big global program means we could accelerate closing Africa’s digital skills gap faster.”

Ahmed Ismail, Founder of Siyafunda Community Technology Centre, a South African non-profit organization and one of the ACW implementing partners, says being selected for this program means we can help shape the future of Scratch education in South African classrooms and across the continent. “We plan on incorporating this milestone by further advancing South African Basic Education by working with educators to improve the quality of the local curriculum.”

He adds, “We will also work to increase access to digital education for South African children, especially girls. We believe that education is the key to improving the lives of people in underserved locations, and we will do everything to help make it a reality for more people.”

Building on the ACW foundation

Since 2015, ACW has reached millions of African teachers and children and plans to partner closely with policymakers and governments to help transform Africa’s education agenda by including digital literacy in the national curricula.

Valentine Masicha, founder of MindSet Coders in Uganda and an ACW ambassador, says joining the SEC program means building on foundation blocks laid by ACW. “This will enhance the already existing knowledge from ACW and open our eyes to the opportunities available to build learning resources.”

She adds, “We would like to enhance creative computing for learners in and out of schools with a special focus on differently-abled children.

Digital skills for Africa and beyond

According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, over 200 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030. Beyond Africa, there are approximately 97 million new jobs could emerge from the introduction of machines and algorithms by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum.

Victoria Nxumalo, the Executive Director of Girls In STEM Trust in Zimbabwe and one of the ACW ambassadors joining the SEC programs, will enable global opportunities. “Girls In STEM Trust is thrilled to be part of the SEC cohort 2 as it allows us to collaborate and network with like-minded organisations across the globe to learn best practices for advancing technology education in Zimbabwe and Africa. This will also allow us to work directly in the development of Scratch as a critical educational tool for both educators and learners.”

Nxumalo concludes, “It is 21st-century digital skills that ensure the youth are able to compete on an international scale for technology careers and opportunities and feed into the global talent pipeline.”

Scratch is one of the world’s largest free online learning platforms designed to empower children, young adults and teachers with coding skills. The program allows young people to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations. In 2021 alone, more than 200 million children interacted with Scratch. Click here to apply and stand a chance to be part of the SEC for the 2023 – 2025 Cohort. Deadline February 28, 2023!

Returning for the second year, the Africa Code Week AfriCAN Code Challenge presents their top 10 winners with Devansh and Darshika from Mauritius as the Pan-African competition winners!

An annual celebration of coding throughout Africa

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is a pan-African coding competition where youth aged 8 - 16 were tasked with coding a game using the Scratch programming language to address the theme that was determined by the Africa Code Week team. This competition was launched by SAP Africa Code Week and partners UNESCO, Irish Aid and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in September 2020, and since then has become an annual celebration of youth and innovation in Africa.

The rationale for chosing this year’s superheroe theme was to allow children to unleash their creativity and express themselves freely on issues they feel are important to them. Davide Storti, Coordinator of the YouthMobile Initiative at UNESCO, says: “The post-pandemic education recovery starts with allowing our children to regain confidence and hope, and with us adults reopening spaces, although virtual, for them to access their fullest potential."

To take part in the AfriCAN Code Challenge, youth were able to enter alone or in teams of up to five people, and entries featured a three-minute YouTube video showcasing how their game works and why it should be considered a winning entry. The unique initiative and entry mechanism called upon the children’s ability to design a project that would solve a community-issue, code it, and communicate it.

The winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge 2021

During the opening rounds of the challenge, participation reached across 40 countries and featured 102 project video clips, only the top three entries from 36 countries made it into the continental final, followed by 20 countries in the final judging stage.

Selected by a high-level jury comprising key Africa Code Week delegates and STEM education experts, the top three winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge are:

The top 3

First place: Mauritius – Super Recyclers, by Devansh and Darshika
Second place: Nigeria – The Carbon Man, by SUPER GAMERS
Third place: Ethiopia – Kids Academy, by Natnael Kedir

Followed by:

4: Niger - Rayuwa
5: Sao Tome & Principe - Helper intrigue
6: Tunisia - Le toucher du bonheur
7: Capo Verde - Change the World with US
8: Morocco – Super hero
9: Seychelles - The Prodigies
10: Madagascar - Pensons civisme

The 2021 edition of the AfriCAN Code Challenge was quite unique, as for the first time, hearing-impaired students participated in the competition proving once again that coding is the language of inclusivity and creativity.

Irish Minister of State for overseas development aid and diaspora Colm Brophy T.D, who attended the Rwanda AfriCAN Code Challenge national awards ceremony says, “Africa Code Week unlocks the potential in young people who otherwise may not have considered building their digital skills”

Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at SAP adds, “The  return of the AfriCAN Code Challenge was awaited by our incredible SAP volunteers who took part in the first line of jury. The presence of hearing-impaired students demonstrates the power of inclusivity that resides in digital literacy, in its capacity to build bridges and connect children of an entire continent, regardless of gender, age or ability.”

For more information about SAP Africa Code Week and the AfriCAN Code Challenge, visit www.africacodeweek.org

Despite the dual challenges of low internet penetration and a switch to virtual teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in Ghana have embraced the opportunity to learn 21st century digital teaching skills during this year’s Africa Code Week Train-the-Trainer campaign.

Ghana's population growth: a challenge and an opportunity

Ghana has a fast-growing population that more than doubled from 14.2 million people in 1989 to 28.8 million people in 2017. Nearly 39% of the population is under the age of 15, a demographic dividend that the Ghanaian government aims to harness through improved education opportunities for all its youth.

Speaking at the launch of last year’s Train-the-Trainer activities in Ghana, Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Yaw Adutwum, said: “Coding is not just a skill. It’s a different way of teaching and a different way of learning that puts the student at the centre of the learning process.”

More than 39 000 teachers in 37 countries were mobilised during the 2019 Africa Code Week. This year, with both a virtual and a hybrid format due to the impact of the pandemic, Africa Code Week is taking place in all African countries, including a month-long series of virtual coding sessions that took place across the continent from October until December.

Teachers embrace digital learning opportunity

Francis Ahene-Affoh, SVP at the DreamOval Foundation, says there was a high level of interest in the Train-the-Trainer sessions this year despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic.

A survey conducted by the DreamOval Foundation of participating teachers revealed many would choose to continue with online learning in future. “While the majority of participants at this year’s Train-the-Trainer sessions were from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, this year’s virtual learning model also enabled teachers from every part of Ghana to participate,” says Ahene-Affoh. "We believe this indicates a need for virtual teaching to continue even when the pandemic subsides, as the travel to attend training sessions in person can be an obstacle to teachers' participation.”

Internet connectivity continues to be a challenge in Ghana, and few teachers have access to laptops. “Despite not having resources, more than half of teachers surveyed joined the sessions via their mobile phones. This level of commitment and passion for teaching and digital skills development is hugely encouraging as we work to prepare the country’s youth for participation in the digital economy,” says Ahene-Affoh.

Mobilising youth in continent-wide coding challenge

A recent addition to Africa Code Week activities is the AfriCanCode Challenge, a continent-wide coding challenge calling on youth aged 8 to 16 to compete in a competition. The competition was launched in September last year in partnership with SAP, UNESCO YouthMobile and Irish Aid.

According to Mustapha Diyaol Haqq, Africa Code Week’s 2019-2020 youth ambassador in Ghana, interest in the AfriCanCode Challenge has been high among Ghanaian youth. “Despite low levels of internet penetration in Ghana, young aspiring coders from across the country have taken up the challenge. Through teamwork, problem-solving and newly-developed coding skills, youth are putting forward their vision for what the future of education holds for the continent."

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at SAP Africa, says:

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