What a great day to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Mpumalanga ICT Club and the sixth anniversary of the DigiGirlz Initiative. The event took place on May 12, 2024 at Nkangala TVET College's Witbank Campus.
We were thrilled to see 60 girls arrive at the location as early as 7:30 a.m., full of interest and excitement about the DigiGirlz Coding Bootcamp and ready to celebrate with us. The DigiGirlz Coding Bootcamp was incredibly inspirational.
We'd like to express our gratitude to
Kholisile Khumalo,
Sheena Satikge-Sibisi, and
Kiyara Bellochun for their collaboration. They inspired our DigiGirlz to believe in themselves as positive brands, to be determined to master new skills for the future, and to make success a trendy notion throughout their lives.
The club was officially established in 2014 as a Professional Learning Community for educators, youth, and kids. In 2018, the club established DigiGirlz, a programme to support girls in STEM. During the bootcamp, major milestones were highlighted, as well as how the club received little local and worldwide attention:
✓ In 2018, as the club's founder, I was invited to attend the Dubai-based 365EduEvents in Durban and Cape Town to inspire teachers to launch digital literacy projects in schools.
✓ In 2019, the club appeared on two international platforms, as I presented at the "
Africa Play" conference, displaying the DigiGirlz Initiative. The Department of Basic Education held the conference at Menlo Square in Pretoria. Again, Microsoft picked me as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Fellow to attend the
Global Education Exchange Summit, often known as E2 2019 in Paris, France.
✓ In 2020, I received the Inspiring Fifty Award for serving as a STEM role model for young girls. In addition,
✓ I received the
Trailblazer Award from the Centre for Public Service and Innovation in 2021. The MEC for Education honoured the club once more in his budget and policy statement, and Honourable Bonakele Majuba named us "coding pioneers"
✓ Two significant events deserve notice. First, last year, I participated in a five-week
Techwomen exchange programme in San Francisco and Washington DC in the US with 104 young women emerging leaders from the Sub Saharan, Middle East and East Asia.
✓Second, shortly after returning from San Francisco, I scoped the International Information Technology Professionals South Africa
(IITPSA) Presidential Award for Social and Community Responsibility.
✓ The story of the club and the DigiGirlz Initiative has been formally published at the University of Johannesburg Library.
On April 22nd, 2024, I received my Master's degree in ICT in Education from the University of Johannesburg. The title of the study: "Grade 8 and 9 girls' perception of coding and robotics in a DigiGirlz workshop in the Nkangala District"
✓ In addition the DigiGirlz Initiative, has inspired many girls who opted to take up STEM subjects at school and pursue STEM careers like Nomzamo Makhotha, who was the first girl to join a DigiGirlz workshop in 2016 in grade 9 recently graduated on Bachelor of IT Software Development.
During the Coding Bootcamp Camp, the girls participated in the introduction of the Octostudio Coding App to build projects relevant to difficulties like bullying, littering, adolescent pregnancy, and many others in their community and came up with solutions. These activities were done in line with the
Scratch Day celebration. The session was led by Kiyara Bellochun, an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg.
The girls were lucky to connect with Kholisile Khumalo from the Aviation and Aerospace Youth Development Programme, who gave information about a new job opportunity in the South African Defence and Air Force that requires technologically competent youngsters.
Ms. Sheena Satikge represents the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development. Satikge is also a Techwomen Alumnae 2023, and we met on the US Techwomen trip. She discussed numerous initiatives and opportunities for girls funded by the US Embassy, including
TechGirls,
Technovation, and scholarships. She urged girls to step up and take part in STEM-related activities in their communities and schools.
These had an opportunity to test their coding talents when Nomzamo Makhotha, Duduzile Mashinini and Glenda Mabaso took them to a Coding Mini Tournament using a Tangible Coding App called Rangers. One mixed school group came top by achieving level 28 within 25 minutes.
We take this opportunity to recognise the positive contributions made by our teachers and presenters during the bootcamp. We also recognise the event's planners and sponsors, which include the Leva Foundation and Debonairs Pizza Downtown.
