“Digital Holidays” programme: young Beninese go to artificial intelligence school
On Monday 21 September 2020, three members of the Beninese Government took part in the inaugural conference of the “Digital Holidays” programme initiated by the Adrien Houngbédji Foundation for Digital Technology, Youth and Artificial Intelligence (FAHNJIA) in partnership with the Francophone Agency for Artificial Intelligence in Africa (AFRIA) and other organisations. The Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, and her colleagues Alain Orounla, in charge of Communication and Postal Services, and Aurélien Agbénonci, of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, lent their support to this programme, which brings together a number of young Beninese from 21 to 26 September 2020.
“Digital Holidays” aims to enable young working people, as well as pupils and students, to become familiar with the concepts and stakes of artificial intelligence and to see the opportunities it offers. The sessions focus mainly on Python, the main programming language in artificial intelligence.
During the inaugural conference, the President of AFRIA stressed that this artificial intelligence (AI) training programme is a first in French-speaking Africa.
Eric Adja then emphasised what is at stake with AI for Africa and Benin. According to the Minister of Communication and Postal Services, Alain Orounla, this reflection on AI is welcome, because artificial intelligence, one of the key issues of the 21st century, will transform humanity in every respect in the coming decades. He did not fail to recall the vision of President Patrice Talon, which is to “transform Benin into the digital platform of West Africa and make Information and Communication Technologies the main lever of its socio-economic development”.
In the same vein, the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, said that under the leadership of President Patrice Talon, Benin is developing “a national strategy on big data and the development of artificial intelligence… centred on technological solutions adapted to our needs (education, health, agriculture, living environment, tourism, transport, defence, e-government, e-business), and on understanding the use cases applicable to our context”.
According to Adrien Houngbédji, former President of the National Assembly and President of FAHNJIA, the aim of this kind of exercise is to “spark young Beninese people’s interest in the many scientific developments that will transform their lives”. He also welcomed the interest shown by the Government in this activity.
The “Digital Holidays” programme is organised into several in-person workshops, each bringing together around fifty participants at most. Benin’s major university centres, Porto-Novo, Cotonou, Parakou, Abomey-Calavi, Abomey, Bohicon and Lokossa, will host the in-person capacity-building activities from 21 to 26 September 2020. Other young people can follow these workshops remotely on the Zoom or Big Blue Button platforms. “Artificial intelligence, education, jobs and careers in Africa and Benin”; “Artificial intelligence, sustainable development, agriculture and the environment”; “Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, legal and ethical issues” and an introduction to the Python language are the main topics on the agenda.