By Correspondent in Abuja.
A call has gone to the Nigerian government to invest in gild-child education, especially in the area of technical and digital literacy.
A ceremonial Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Miss Mercy Chrimon(15) made the call during a hybrid forum at the Swedish embassy when she assumed ceremonial duties as ambassador of the mission for a day at its office on Tuesday in Abuja.
Our Correspondent reports that the forum was in commemoration of the upcoming Oct. 11 International Day of the Girl (IDG) 2021, declared by the as the UN to highlight challenges faced by girls and having public conversation, on how to address them.
The event was organised by Plan International Nigeria and the mission in partnership with the TecHer Foundation, ahead of Oct. 11.
Chrimon, a primary six pupil of OakBridge Foundation, noted that investing in girl-child education, especially digital literacy, would go a long way in improving writing, reading, listening, as well as speaking skills.
“Through the internet, we can learn, connect with other girls around the world, express our thoughts and talents, have fun and discover new things,”she said.
The ceremonial ambassador, however, stressed that girls needed the access, knowledge and skills to be online with confidence, to find information, create, and share content.
“False information makes us doubt ourselves and our worth. False information harms our mental health. It affects our trust in politics and the politicians. And above all, it inhibits our chances of achieving our ambition.”
Earlier, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Micheal Grans, noted that digital literacy and access remained major challenges for girls, adding that the gap between men and women in tech was too wide.
He added that it was important that women and girls had the same rights online, adding that while issues, like online bullying and harassment was not gender specific, however, girls had been seen to be more targeted than boys.
