At end of Holiday Tech Camp: P&T Minister salutes youth’s desire to bridge digital divide, foster dev’t.

She was addressing some 42 pupils and students via zoom in Buea. This was during the closing ceremony of a seven-week tech camp in Buea, organised by the goodwill ambassador for cyber security, Nervis Nzometiah.

The tech camp, which ran from July 4 to August 19, brought together children from different regions of the country to farmiliarise them with various ICT-related technologies, while raising awareness on cyber security and cybercrimes.

For seven weeks, the children learned complex technological issues such as; artificial intelligence, coding, trying to create solutions for the modern age, website development, robotics, drone technology among others.

The children, according to Minister Libom, did not only develop skills “but also team spirit and ability to tackle complex challenges, exploring coding, robotics and the basics of artificial intelligence, which will shape our future. 

Beyond learning, it was a true transformative experience. The skills learnt will help to build an innovations focused economy”.

Teenagers displaying some of their creations

Tech-based solutions to daily problems displayed 

The participants, who were children within the age range of 7-12, displayed exclusive tech-based solutions to daily problems around them. 

Some of the works produced and displayed by the children to the cheering audience included; a T-shirt Folding Machine, Solar Powered House, Automatic Toll Gate, Intruder Alert System, Robotic Arm, Humanoid Robot, Fingerprint Security system, Pill Dispenser, 3D Modeling, Webpage, Plant Welfare Monitoring System, AI Assistant, Weather Station, and Smart House Turbine.

Addressing participants, the Technical Adviser No 2 at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, Dr Mfuh Winfred, appreciated the parents and trainers for giving their children such an opportunity to learn and become successful. “…Children are those who build the nation tomorrow, I have no doubt that amongst these children who are seated here today we will have billionaires who will have impact in Buea and the world. You must keep supporting them all through to make sure that what they learn here does not disappear somewhere,” he told parents.

To the children, he encouraged them to share lessons learnt with their peers who were not chanced to attend the camp in 2023. 

The desire to immense children in technology at an early age, according to Nervis Nzometiah, the CEO of Nervtek, was because, “technology is taking over every space and anyone who is not apt digitally may be left behind. And that is why we have the need to engage and inspire children right from the young age. For the past seven weeks we have trained our future engineers, entrepreneurs, change makers and tech champions”.

Speaking to the press, he said he was satisfied with the training based on the response of the children in not only gaining tech skills, but other soft personal development skills. 

“…The children have learnt so many things because apart from the digital skills they have also learned problem solving, critical thinking and they have also learned how to be resilient. That is the amazing thing about the African child and I believe these children can go back to school and parents will see positive changes at home,” Nzometiah added. 

The children and their parents were also educated on the laws against the distribution of pornographic materials, radicalisation of children, bullying, internet fraud and other cybercrimes. 

The cyberspace, according to Dr Mfuh, was 50% helpful and 50% dangerous. In this light, he urged parents to monitor their children’s use of social media and the internet.