Gearing up schoolgirls for an AI future

PUPILS from five Khayelitsha high schools will participate in a three-day boot camp centred on using artificial intelligence (AI) and design thinking to create solutions, tackling social challenge in their communities.

“AI in Khayelitsha” is part of a series of “AI in Africa” boot camps and will gather together 60 girls aged 15 to 18 from Chris Hani Secondary School, Harry Gwala Secondary School, Joe Slovo Secondary School, Siphamandla Secondary School and Usasazo High School, from tomorrow until Sunday.

This is part of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation and Fliptin Venture Builder’s celebration of Youth Month. The organisations will traverse the country to deliver “AI in Africa”, a series of high-impact education-driven initiatives with a focus on youth empowerment for high school pupils through the month.

“AI in Africa” is focused on exposing young South Africans to technology that will prepare them to compete in a digitally-driven economy,” said Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation head of innovation Mustapha Zaouini.

“The aim of this Youth Month is to give young people a glimpse of what the future of work may look like and give them access to tools, concepts and 21st century skills.”

The foundation said these girlsonly boot camps attempted to address the “systematic exclusion of youth in a variety of 21st century careers by offering a powerful platform to acquire new tools and knowledge, bettering their prospects at female digital inclusion and, subsequently, socio-economic forecast”.

“The youth are taken through a dynamic journey of contemporary education methodologies to learn the concepts and ethics of digital technology and how to apply technology to their daily lives to create solutions for their communities.

“The three-day exercise will expose these learners to a working environment of cutting-edge technologies, including how to build computer chatbots, package their individual tech ideas and solutions, and pitch their innovations to a panel of judges,” said the foundation.

From June 13 to 15, “AI in Africa” heads to Johannesburg to partner with the Gauteng provincial government and African Women and Youth Foundation at the fifth annual Gauteng Youth Career, Jobs and Entrepreneurship Expo at the Nasrec Expo Centre.

The youth expo will feature a variety activities, including exhibitions, discussions and workshops, and provide information and services to youth on careers, jobs and work exposure, as well as on how to start, run and operate a business.

It will prepare them to compete in a digitallydriven economy