The Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa at Project Management Institute, Mr George Asamani, has urged schools in the continent to adopt three ‘R’- ‘reading’, ‘riting’ and ‘rithmetic’ to deepen digital literacy that will empower the next generation.
Speaking at the media intervention recently, Asamani stated that digital literacy was imperative in Africa because it would enable better education, innovation, and economic growth.
He said, “Compared with other regions in the world Sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest monthly cost, as a percentage of GDP, for one gigabyte of data.
“The success of mobile money and the resultant rise of African techpreneurs has spurred the technology investment scene on the continent. During the last decade, the promise of Africa’s $180bn digital economy started an undersea cable race among Silicon Valley giants to build the region’s internet infrastructure. However, urgent action is still very much required – as the African continent needs a smarter approach to addressing data illiteracy and digital skills shortages.”
“The information explosion we have today is something we have never seen before. Data is all around us, and it is playing a vital, ever-growing role in our lives and livelihoods – even when we do not always realise it. Connectivity is enriching the human experience, but only for those who are connected,” Asamani revealed.
He added that policies to promote digital literacy in Africa were important to address the challenges of digital divide on the continent.
“Nigeria’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy is a good example of a policy that seeks to drive digital literacy and make Nigeria a global outsourcing destination for digital jobs. The strategy emphasises the need to partner with relevant institutions to promote globally competitive training that focuses on digital technologies.”
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