Photo opportunity with the school after a successful launch event
The Careers in STEM School Tour, implemented in partnership with UNICEF Sierra Leone, reached Annie Walsh Memorial School on Kissy Road today, marking its fourth stop since the initiative began in 2024 and the launch of Sierra Leone’s first school tech club.
The tour has previously visited Freetown Secondary School for Girls, Science World Secondary School and Lorenzo Gorvie Memorial Secondary School in Waterloo. At each stop, the focus has been the same, helping more girls see STEM as a path they can confidently pursue.
The initiative complements President Julius Maada Bio’s efforts to expand opportunities for girls in science and technology. Girls studying STEM at public universities now benefit from free tuition, while the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, 2022, seeks to increase women’s representation in leadership. The school tour focuses on another part of the equation, encouraging girls to take advantage of those opportunities.
Students of the Annie Walsh Memorial school
Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation Salima Monorma Bah officially launched the Tech Club, describing it as a pilot for a national rollout to schools across the country. Minister Bah trained as a lawyer before moving into technology policy at the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation, where she worked on UNICEF-supported programmes. She later earned a master’s degree with honours in Intellectual Property and Technology Law from Columbia Law School and now serves on the Giga International Advisory Group, which supports efforts to connect schools to the internet.
Madam Salima Bah, minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation
Cybersecurity Specialist and Capacity-Building Lead at the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NC3), Gemma Pyne-Bailey, reminded students that responsible digital citizenship begins with everyday choices.
“Every click leaves a digital footprint. Before you click, pause and think, because staying safe online starts with the choices you make every day.”
Gemma Pyne-Bailey, Cybersecurity Specialist and Capacity-Building Lead at the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NC3)
The STEM Club launched today is organised around six student-led teams covering leadership, teacher coordination, debate and communications, innovation and entrepreneurship, media and digital creativity, and essays and research. To support its first projects, the Ministry donated 25 STEM kits and three laptops.
Speaking at the event, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Conrad Sackey told students that mathematics is a goal built for them. He said STEM is not a privilege reserved for a few but a foundation for every child, whether in Kissy Road or anywhere else in Sierra Leone. He added that free quality school education shows President Bio’s commitment to giving every child the opportunity to succeed.
Conrad Sackey, Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education
Students also had the chance to put their own questions directly to Minister Bah and CEO, Aicha Touré during a fireside conversation. Responding to a question about bringing more women into technology leadership, Minister Bah said President Bio has made technology a key part of Sierra Leone’s development agenda because of its role in communication, business, education and public services. “Technology now defines how the country communicates, does business and learns,” she said. “It touches every part of our lives.” She explained that this vision led to the creation of the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation and later the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, describing it as an honour to contribute to that work.
When asked by an Annie Walsh student, Lucia Rogers, what advice she would give her 15-year-old self, Minister Bah urged students to think carefully about what they post online. “Don’t compare your journey with someone else’s,” she told the students. “Everyone moves at their own pace. If something hasn’t happened for you yet, your time is still coming.” She added that she wished she had dreamed even bigger as a teenager and believed in herself with greater confidence.
Answering the same question, CEO A Touré said she would tell her younger self to be bolder and more curious. As a teenager, she believed a career in telecommunications required an engineering background and did not realise how many different opportunities existed in the sector. “You can be anything you want if you believe in yourself and work hard,” she told the students.
Aicha Toure, CEO, Orange Sierra Leone
For many of the girls at Annie Walsh, the day’s biggest takeaway was not just hearing from women working in technology. It was leaving school knowing they now have a Tech Club of their own, a place where ideas can be tested, leadership can grow and curiosity can turn into real opportunities
