Ghana should establish community digital hubs – Dr Ocloo advocates

Dr Patience Emefa Adzo Dzandza Ocloo, a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Information Studies, University of Ghana, has advocated the establishment of community-based digital hubs.She said the availability of those centres would lead to the extension of digital literacy among thousands of out of school people, head potters, and artisans alike, thereby, increase the adoption and use of digital technology.She was speaking with the Ghana News Agency on the margins of the 2024 World Bank Youth Summit, held in Accra on Thursday, May 30, on the theme, 'Powering progress: youth leading the digital transformation.'The information professional explained that for Ghanaian citizens to become beneficiaries of the booming digital economy, the most essential thing to do was to enhance the digital and media information literacy skills of the youth.The education, she said, should be done from the basic to the highest level, while targeting out of school youth in underserved communities to be trained 'to be grea t users of digital platforms.'She stated that doing so would engender inclusiveness, spark the technological innovations among the youth, increase their participation in the digital ecosystem, and contribute to development in the sector.'The Ghana Library Authority is currently doing a project that trains head potters in acquiring digital skills. Through the community-based digital hubs, we can work with transport operators, and artisans,' Dr Ocloo said.She also called for increased funding for youth-led Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the digital ecosystem, including developers, and service providers, in addition to continuous enhancement of their skills.The 2024 summit, the 11th edition, was characterised with activities in different regions across the world, affording the youth to engage in pressing issues facing their generation.Like other countries, in Ghana, the focus of the summit was on digital inclusion, Artificial Intelligence, and sustainable technology, and saw the exchanges of knowledge and ideas to empower the youth to engage impactful projects.The government has launched the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project (GDAP) to strengthen the digital innovation ecosystem and position the country as a leading ICT innovator in Sub-Saharan Africa.According to the Bank of Ghana March 2024 summary of Economic and Financial Data, Mobile Money (MoMo), a major digital transaction platform, recorded GHS779.1 billion in the first four months of 2024.There is also the Digital Addressing System (GhanaPostGPS), as well as biometric national identity card (Ghana card), all of which are aimed at making the digital ecosystem thrive and enhance social conditions of Ghanaians.Source: Ghana News Agency