By: Saidu Jalloh (Intern)
The Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Salima Mornama Bah, has on the 17th September 2023 issued a press release that the ministry will send its first batch of technologists for training and development at the Giga Technology Center in Barcelona, Spain.
This announcement was made during the SDG Digital Day, a side event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Minister explained that, Giga had been a joint initiative by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the international Telecommunication Union (ITU) connecting every school in the word to the internet.
“It has been implemented in Sierra Leone by the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI). The Giga Technology Center, made possible through the generous contributions of the government of Spain, Catalonia and Barcelona, serves the hub for Giga’s open – source technology products aimed at providing connectivity solutions to government,” Minister opined.
Ms. Salima Mornama Bah said that Sierra Leone would send five young and talented developers to work closely with the Giga’s technology team at the Technology Center in early 2024. Along with technologists from other Giga partner countries, this pioneer batch would actively participate in co – developing products related to mapping, data science and Blockchain – based accounting platforms.
The Minister, Salima Mornama Bah in expressing her enthusiasm lamented that sending our developers to the Giga Technology Center presents a golden opportunity for them to acquire invaluable skills and co – create technology solutions shaped by our specific needs and context that would serve our nation.
“Through our partnership with Giga, we have successfully mapped every school in the country crucial towards creating a comprehensive plan for school connectivity. Over the last year we have successfully connected 42 schools through this initiative, which led to us unlocking 5 million dollars from the Islamic Development Bank to support our connectivity projects,” the Minister furthered.
She added that this new collaboration with Giga in Barcelona signified a significant milestone and brings them closer their ambition of connecting every school and every student in Sierra Leone to the internet.
