says ‘Click-on Kaduna,’ tool to integrate young people into governance
At least the 30 pioneer cohort of the Click-on Kaduna Data Science Fellowship programme have completed their 6-months intensive training in data processing initiated by the Kaduna State Government in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The programme, which was launched under the Click-On Kaduna Human Capital Development initiative through a grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is aimed at improving the data culture of the state in using data to solve human-related policy and governance issues.
Speaking at the event which was held in Kaduna, the state capital on Tuesday, Commissioner, Planning and Budget Commission, Mohammed Sani Abdullahi, said the state government was prepared to invest in talented youths for the future of the state and by extension, Nigeria.
The commissioner noted that as a state government, the data revolution master plan was launched as part of the focus of making data the central piece of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and targets.
According to him, the state government launched the ‘Click-on Kaduna’ as a tool to integrate young people into governance.
The Commissioner said, “as a state, we are ready to continue to invest in talents for the future and build young people to participate in modernizing and enhancing the capacity of government to deliver smarter and faster approaches to using data to support government priorities and vision.
“In this regard, we look forward to the launching of the second cohort in January as we hope to explore other sectors like education, agriculture, and social investments
“We launched the data revolution master plan as part of the focus of making data the central piece of achieving the SDP and SDGs goals and target. The PBC launched the Click-On Kaduna as a tool to integrate young people into participating in governance.
“The DSFP, in particular, is geared towards broadening the data capabilities of the state by integrating young people and building a community of practice in providing scale for evidence-based data.”
The Commissioner commended the State Bureau of Statistics for being a model agency that is setting “the pace on how sub national state bureaus should operate and integrate young people to participate in governance.”
Earlier, the Statistician-General of the Kaduna State Bureau of Statistics, Saheed Salawu, while congratulating the graduands, said the state had taken the lead in broadening the base for the knowledge economy and youth involvement in supporting governance through improved availability and effective use of data for planning and evidence-based decision making in the state.
He added that the state through the initiative was creating a community of practice that would support its data vision of moving from the traditional data collection and one source decision-making process.
To the graduands, Salawu said, “it has indeed been a long and worthwhile journey for both the fellows and the state, making history and changing the narrative for learning, youth empowerment and youth involvement in governance and decision-making process.
According to him, The data science fellowship programme is one of the states’ efforts in building the capacity of youth to participate in the knowledge economy and contribute to the planning and decision-making process of the state.
Continuing, the Statistician-General said the Programme was designed to provide youth and especially young women with practical knowledge around the use of modern data management tools to solve some of the most critical socio-economic issues affecting Kaduna State in health, education and Agric sectors.
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