Image-Impact Hub Harare Staff and Students for Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Program
In a determination to bridge the digital divide and equip the youth with effective essential digital skills for the modern job market, Impact Hub Harare has launched an innovative program called Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) to teach digital skills to the youth across Zimbabwe.
The DS4Y initiative comes at a crucial time when the world is heavily relying on technology to drive economic growth, innovation and development. A lot of developing countries like Zimbabwe leg behind in terms of digital literacy and technological innovations. This program aims to provide Zimbabwean youths with the necessary digital skills to thrive in this digital economy.
Impact Hub Harare’s digital skills program began on the 4th of March, 2024, and is anticipated to end on the 6th of September, 2024. The DS4Y program in Zimbabwe will educate youth in urban areas like Harare, Mutare, and Bulawayo, as well as rural areas like Tsholotsho and Chiredzi. The DS4Y program’s curriculum includes instruction in Artificial Intelligence (AI), one of the most underexplored topics, as well as Google digital skills.
Tadzoka Pswarayi, Impact Hub Harare Director commented that, “The high levels of digital illiteracy among the youth in developing nations are alarming. This program serves as a step of empowering digital literacy in Zimbabwe.”
The final four months of the curriculum will feature students taking Google digital course of their choice. They will choose from: Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce; Google UX Design Certification; Google IT Support Certification; and Google Cybersecurity Course. To ensure that the youth gain practical experience, their learning will include case studies, guest lecturers from experts in various fields, industry reports and articles, and hands-on projects. After the course of the study, the students will be given opportunities to use their skills practically through paid internship depending with individual expertise.
The importance of this program cannot be overstated. In the modern-day digital landscape, numerous organizations prefer to employ people who are tech savvy. The same applies for the implementation of entrepreneurial ideas. Having digital skills greatly contributes to improving livelihoods, contributing to the nation’s economic growth and securing better job opportunities.
“We strongly believe that the youth deserve the opportunity to acquire digital skills regardless of their background or location,” said Tatenda Marshal, Harare Program Coordinator at Impact Hub. “Our goal is to equip the youth with digital skills and knowledge that can make them functional in this digital economy.”
The program has already made significant strides with many participants expressing gratitude for the opportunity to learn new skills, “I never thought I could know how to code or create websites, but thanks to Impact Hub, I now have the new skill that can improve my career by supplementing my undergraduate studies.” said Tadakara, one of the Harare youths under the DS4Y program.
The youth are the future making the knowledge they consume crucial. Digital skills are important for young people to learn because they touch on a variety of topics such as economics, politics, social development, and ethics. They also enable the youth to participate with and understand the digital environment in a responsible and informed manner.
Technology facilitates both communication and learning. However, it has a drawback in that some people abuse it to harm others. It is critical to teach young people about the digital environment and how to use technology for good. This will benefit not only developing nations but the entire world through development. Youth in developing nations, such as Zimbabwe, have a disadvantage due to their lack of digital literacy. Since digitization is now at the heart of development, digital illiteracy in poor countries stifles progress and prosperity.
The digital environment is taking over critical areas of our daily lives and growth. It is critical for developing countries to educate and teach the youth digital skills. This step ensures both development, resourcefulness and creativity. Educators, governments and non-governmental organizations in developing nations need to adopt steps to teach digital skills to young people.
By Mathew Munashe Tatenda Magwarada
