Page Nav

HIDE

Grid

GRID_STYLE

Trending News

latest

Dololo To Host Namibia's First Digital Olympics

Dololo DoBox, Namibia. WINDHOEK—The digital entrepreneur hub  Dololo DoBox  will host the country's first digital skills competition und...

Dololo DoBox, Namibia.
WINDHOEK—The digital entrepreneur hub Dololo DoBox will host the country's first digital skills competition under the theme, Windhoek 2021 Digilympics, on 6 October 2021.

According to a statement from the company, this competition will be held in partnership with Paratus, Start-up Namibia (GIZ), Nictus, and PEBL to raise awareness for digital literacy in the country.  “Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the whole world has seen a shift to conducting business, meetings, virtual services, and remote work online. 

“Covid-19 has shown an increased need for digital infrastructure that companies are providing in order for employees to be able to work from home on the one hand – but then also the skills that people have to carry out their tasks online,” said the statement. 

The competition is open to people of any age and educational background. The company added that while Namibia's literacy rate currently stands at 91,6%, which is much above the southern African average, digital literacy is not that high. “Only 51% of the country's population has access to the internet, only 31% are active social media users. And the share of digital businesses, that is, companies with a significant tech component in their business model is significantly lower,” Dololo said. 

Digital literacy is a strong catalyst for social and economic development as people can educate and upskill themselves via the internet no matter how far from the cities they live. As Meike Neitz, digital ambassador with GIZ/Dololo highlighted: “Our mission is to make the issue of digital competency and tech savviness public, as we strongly believe it is of uttermost importance for Namibia's economic transformation.”  “We did not want to host just an ordinary conference on the subject, but create an entertaining event. 

At our Digilympics, we are looking for Namibia's digital champs in a cool, interactive and fun way,” she added. She said competitors will first do a speed-typing test where they compete for the fastest typing speed combined with accuracy. Then there will be a practice test where athletes will demonstrate a high web and hardware navigation skill set. 

The digital athletes will then get a multiple-choice test, to prove their knowledge of the virtual world. The winner will get one PEBL desktop bundle, comprising a PEBL computer, 27-inch PEBL monitor and PEBL wireless keyboard and mouse combo. Other prizes are sponsored by Nictus, Paratus, DoBox and Cafe Prestige. Aspiring contestants can apply by sending a short email to [email protected]