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| Picture Source: http://www.dellchallenge.org/projects/programming-kids-ghana |
It
is heartwarming to observe that a number of brilliant social innovation
projects are continuously driving change and progress in Ghana and the rest of
Africa. Previously blogged about initiatives include BarCamp
Ghana, Maker
Faire Africa,
Python African Tour, Coders4Africa
, Sunset
Sports and the
Kuyu Project. Today, I simply want to point to a few more projects I find
inspiring.
Tech in Education: This project is the main
motivation behind today’s post. Tech in Education is a 48hr gathering of ideas,
people and digital tools aimed at creating novel web and mobile solutions to
improve learning amongst primary and secondary school students in Nigeria. My
first reaction to Femi and CP Africa’s tweets was “this must be
replicated in Ghana.” Tech in Education resonates with the Kuyu Project’s objectives. We must
take advantage of the abundant tools, talents and information our modern world
presents us with to mould our upcoming ones better, enabling them to become
agents of social innovation. Tech in Education was birth by the Co-Creation Hub of Nigeria.
Sandlanders Football: Started originally
as Keta
Sandlanders, Sandlanders Football aims to use sports as a tool for community development. Currently,
Sandlanders have extended their
reach to across Africa and even beyond. Uganda, Liberia, Kenya and India are
some countries that either already have or are planning Sandlanders teams. Club
ownership is based on the co-operative model, as pertains in clubs like Barcelona,
and supporters are
ingeniously recruited worldwide through the power of the web. All Sandlanders
teams are independently run by the respective communities, while the collective
headquartered in London provides support. Sandlanders Football is affiliated
with Co-operatives UK and Supporters Direct, with funding
from Chembe Ventures.
Farmerline: An innovative approach to minimise
the effects of climate change on poor agricultural communities, Farmerline
offers up-to-date and relevant agricultural information for extension officers
and rural farmers. Built by a team from KNUST,
this cutting-edge voice and SMS-based mobile platform recently won
third place in the West African edition of the Apps4Africa challenge. They
are currently gunning for another award in the Dell Social Innovation
Challenge.
Programming
for Kids in Ghana: Another project in the running for
the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, Programming for Kids aims at
introducing Ghanaian children to computer programming and software development at
an early age. Apart from the software skills they gain, the children will learn
to be analytical, creative and collaborative. This project has the potential to
generate a can-do attitude and problem-solving mindset, seemingly lacking in
Ghanaian students, among children earlier in life. The overall impact on
national development needs no restating.
Golden Baobab Prize: Desirous to curb
low reading levels among young Africans, members of the Golden baobab
foundation figured out that part of the problem stems from lack of quality
literature that African youngsters can relate to. They therefore set up an annual
writing competition that to unearth new African Children writers while churning
out quality literature for the consumption of young minds. Their work is
receiving loud applause from organizations such as Echoing
Green, Playing for Change, African Library Project and The Global Fund for Children.
Big ups to the brilliant people who are using their
intellect and sweat to bring needed change to our communities.
