(Business in Cameroon) - Minette Libom Li Likeng, Minister of Posts and Telecoms, just closed in the Southern region of Cameroon, the very first edition of the “ICT holiday camp”, organised from 15 to 18 August, in partnership with the African Information Technology Institute (IAI) and the mobile telephony operator Nexttel, we officially learned.

Centred around the theme “rural youth in the face of ICT developments: opportunities, challenges and risks”, this specialised holiday camp gathered 1,089 young people. The objectives of the event, as highlighted by the organisers, were to “popularise ICT with the rural youth; provide support and solidarity to out of school youth, through the award of ICT training grants; fight against the digital gap between big cities and the hinterland; promote a responsible use of ICT; and offer useful holidays to rural youth”.

“Beyond being exposed to the use of computers and different IT applications, the Camp programme emphasised the responsible use of social media. Our ambition with these camps is not to churn out ICT specialists, but simply to bring about the awareness, talent and genius in this sector”, specified Mrs Minette Li Likeng during the closing ceremony.

And this member of the Cameroonian government continues: “there are many among us who, for most of their lives, have not had access to telecommunications or information services; there will be many of us who will not live long enough to witness the rise of the Information Age. But our children will see it. They are our greatest wealth and it is our duty to given them the skills and knowledge which will enable them to build the information societies of the future, to expand the digital economy so important to the Head of State in Cameroon”.

BRM