 Some 188 youth recently completed training in information and communication technology (ICT) at the WAF-One Stop Centre in Kigali.
The training was made possible thanks to a partnership between UN-HABITAT and Kigali Municipality. The enrolled youth came from 47 youth cooperatives and associations of WAF-One stop.
The Municipality provided USD 2077 support and the organizations facilitated the trainees transport, meals and training materials estimated to cost USD 15774. This partnership gave WAF-One Stop a major boost in empowering youth ICT skills and demonstrated the commitment of how the private sector can work collaboratively with the local governments to support youth empowerment in urban areas. The purpose of the training was to support potential youth entrepreneurs acquire Information technology knowledge and skills to become better placed to create and run their own businesses enhancing their ability to combat poverty and improve their welfare. The Center with 17 computers and 9 youth trainers provided an idyllic ground for the ICT training, planning and organizing of activities and exhibiting achievements. ’’ICT is the foundation of development in Rwanda. By training young people in ICT skills we are helping them become more competitive, improve on their livelihoods while enhancing urban change and economic development in Rwanda,” Mr. Nkurikiyinka the Executive Secretary Kigali Municipality Mr. Nkurikiyinka reminded the youth that the training was a good opportunity for the young people to combat poverty, create small Information technology businesses, indentify partners and clients of their products. With ICT, young people would be able to document all their groups activities and share information with other similar youth groups, partners, and donors and improve on their respective cooperatives. He challenged the trainees to be committed to the training because many other youth who are eager to be trained in Information Communication Technology have no opportunity. Information Communication Technology is increasingly becoming important in all sectors in urban and rural areas. Young people therefore require information technology skills to compete globally. Kigali WAF engages youth in different activities including; entrepreneurship, good governance, organizational management, financial planning and fundraising. ICT was chosen as way to build capacities of the youth associations’ network and share real time information and knowledge with other related associations. The youth trainees will create their own website to enable them network with other youth associations with related activities, said the WAF Local Programme Coordinator.
The training integrated all the basic ICT components to offer a solid foundation in basic computer concepts and the essentials of hardware, software operating systems, and the Internet. The training will focus on; Introduction to computers; Windows XP Operating System; Word processing; Excel; Presentation and PowerPoint; Microsoft Access and Using the internet and the World Wide Web. |
