The "Government E-Capability Enhancement Project" jointly implemented by the TaiwanICDF and Somaliland officially opened the Somaliland Innovation Zone (SIZ) on October 11, 2021. Taiwan Ambassador to the Republic of Somaliland, Chenhwa Lou, and the Minister of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Technology of the Republic of Somaliland (MICT), Dr. Abdiweli Soufi, jointly hosted the ceremony. In his speech, Minister Abdiweli praised the SIZ as a major milestone in ICT cooperation between the two countries. It is also the first national ICT education and training institution established by Somaliland. He declared that, for young students or citizens who intend to engage in ICT-related work or entrepreneurship, SIZ would spare no effort to cultivate the necessary latest science and technology.

Continuing the initiative of the Women in Tech Forum held by the MICT in March this year, the Taiwan Technical Mission in Somaliland (TTM) started a five-week science and technology training course for women from October 31. This course provides computer skills training for a total of 32 female employees from government departments and private enterprises in Somaliland, to improve work efficiency in the workplace.

Sahardiid, Director of ICT Division MICT, believes that the primary goal of this course is to empower women with the ability to use digital tools in this digital age, which will help to increase job opportunities, work efficiency, and equality in employment for both genders. Therefore, this course is specially designed for female students, providing an introduction to science and technology training, including word processor, presentation software, graphics rendering, digital photo editing, audio-visual and graphic advertisement production, and the use of social platforms to upload multimedia, which can help market goods or publicize government policies. This training is expected to let students understand the convenience of technology for work and life and attract more women to learn digital technology.

Ms. Hamda from the government department said that in the past, she used to be a little afraid when using the computer at work. After this introductory course, she was able to use word processing software skillfully. Ms. Kaltun, who is starting a business, said that she is launching through Facebook and Instagram. By participating in this course, she designed two sets of trademarks and business cards in one day, and the lecturer who has background in producing pictures and texts shared her entrepreneurial experience, which made her more hopeful about her personal entrepreneurial plan.

In the future, TTM and MICT will offer more advanced courses on topics such as programming, digital marketing, information security, and other topics, and expand the SIZ into a platform for online teaching, digital medicine and e-commerce. By holding various education, training and promotion activities, SIZ seeks to reduce the digital gap of the people of Somaliland.

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• Update: 2021/12/07
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