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The Herald, August 23, 1990

Schoolgirls from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana recently attended a week-long science and technology roadshow in Francistown and Gaborone, Botswana.

According to Sandra Mudavanhu, a Zimbabwean schoolgirl, the aim of the roadshow was to encourage women to go into science and technology fields.

“We identified reasons why women were not taking up science and tried to come up with solutions,” said Sandra, who was accompanied by another schoolgirl, Ruth Forbes, and a science teacher, Ms Sheilah Cameron.

She said that some of the main reasons which stopped women from taking science fields were cultural backgrounds.

The girls were taught how to make marimba from scratch, resonators (for testing sound) and soldering. They had to follow instructions and use machinery. They were also introduced to computers.

 LESSONS FOR TODAY

 Technology is increasingly becoming an integral part of everyday life and people can no longer do without it. The rapid changes in technology require people to adapt or remain behind.

 In recent years, there have been significant developments in technology such as Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, block-chain, 5G networks, quantum computing, biotechnology, robotics, cloud computing and cybersecurity. These developments are a clear indication of how technology will alter our world in the near future.

 Given the critical role that technology is playing in our lives, it is important to make it an integral part of our education system.

 It is equally important to ensure that students are exposed to rapidly changing developments in technology through facilitating their participation at technology roadshows/fairs, which afford them an opportunity to see things first hand.