Addis Ababa, Feb. 01(ENA)--The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) graduated on Thursday 26 African women who completed a six-month training in CISCO Internet Networking Technology.

The 280-hours training has reportedly provided the women from 16 English-speaking African countries with skills that could produce high-income employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Four of the trainees were Ethiopians.

Manager of ECA’s Information Technology Center for Africa (ITCA), Makane Faye said the training had the goal of assisting African women prepare their future by being part of the knowledge society.

"We are confident that they (the graduates) can really participate in the knowledge economy in their respective countries," Faye said. "They can build and configure networks and servers and enable companies and administrations communicate among themselves".

The training program was part of a two-year partnership initiative launched in August 2001 by ECA-ITCA in collaboration with the leading Information Technology Company CISCO Systems Inc., InfoDev of the World Bank, and the Korean Government.

According to Girma Desalegn, Information Network Officer with ITCA, the aforementioned partners have jointly provided in cash and kind a sum of 783,000 USD for the program.

The training program was based on the established curriculum of the CISCO Networking Academy Program, Girma said, adding CISCO systems had also trained and certified the ITCA training team.

CISCO Networking Academy is a global program operating in more than 133 countries worldwide.

Deputy Executive Secretary of the ECA, Lalla Ben Barka said on the occasion that the digital divide expresses itself in the unequal access of women and men to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

"I believe that this training has produced role models for other African girls and women to emulate," she said, adding the training will have the intended multiplier effect when the graduates return back to their respective countries and train other women and men.

The next batch of African women to be selected from French-speaking African countries will enroll and start training in March 2002.

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