You would have picked up by now that I am passionate about education and technology.
I believe these two aspects can lift any nation out of poverty, as have been proven by the likes of Japan and several African nations.
I have previously written about the importance of getting our kids ready for a future that’s basically going to be driven by technology.
So I was very excited to hear about the new tech additions to our school curriculums, driven by the education minister and President Cyril Ramaphosa, who calls it a “skills revolution”.
Our kids are going to get trained in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Robotics, Data Science, Quantum Technologies, 3D Printing, Cloud Computing and so much more.
In other words, the entire skills spectrum of what the future promises to value.
On Saturday, I attended a gathering called Women in ICT, which is short for Information and Communication Technology.
As part of Women’s Month, it was attended by almost 1 000 school girls from all over; all of them interested in future careers in tech.
And it was very encouraging to see how many of them are already well-versed in tech and could ask some high quality questions of the panelists.
Africa is well placed to become a leader in any, if not all, of these fields.
And because SA, and particularly Cape Town is seen as the continent’s tech hub, it is wise to get ourselves ready to assume that role more and more.
As I’ve said before, get your kids involved in technology. And while you’re at it, get yourself involved too.
You’re never too old to learn to code.