Sophomore, Derick Omari ’18 has been selected as the 2016/2017 Dalai Lama Fellow at Ashesi. As part of his nomination, Derick receives $6,000 to expand his tech-ed initiative, “Tech Era.” Tech Era aims to equip underprivileged children with IT skills so they can experience, partake and excel in this technological era, as well raise IT professionals who will find innovative and effective solutions to problems in Africa.
Twice a week in Ashesi’s computer labs, close to thirty students from the Berekuso junior high school work with Derick and his team of volunteers from Ashesi in building their basic computer skills. Tech Era was started as a solution to some of the problems within the Berekuso community following some research the team did. “In our quest to find out the root causes of slow development of the Berekuso community, we realized that unemployment was one of the major causes,” says Derick. “Our research further indicated that, most of the young adults in Brekuso were unemployed because they did not have any skill in IT. This emphasized the need to focus on how we could help individuals acquire basic IT skills.”
Till Derick came to Ashesi, he had limited exposure to computer science, and computing in general, and thus had little appreciation for the need of IT literacy. "I was not introduced to computers at an early stage in my life hence I did not find the field very interesting to pursue," said Derick, who is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration at Ashesi. "However, I have come to appreciate the power IT has to change the continent through innovations which will make lives better for the people of Africa. I saw a need in raising more IT professionals and that to me demanded that I help develop the interest of the next generation in IT at an early stage in their lives."
With personal authorization from His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama Fellows Programme encourages a new generation of emerging leaders to come together to address some of the most pressing global challenges. The programme also looks to advance in them, a deeper understanding of the need for ethical awareness and inner values as essential components of effective social change leadership.
Ashesi is part of an exclusive list of twelve international campuses that participate in the Dalai Lama Fellows programme – along with other schools such as Stanford, Oberlin and Princeton. The Dalai Lama Fellows programme includes three interconnected components: a meticulous selection process to identify promising Fellows at select universities; ongoing, personalized support from programme officers and outstanding experts in their fields to equip Fellows with new understandings and capabilities; and lifelong participation by all Fellows in a Global Learning Community that will strengthen each individual's capacity to lead, while fostering a sense of collective global responsibility, service and action.
As part of his fellowship, Derick will be attending the Ethical Leadership Assembly in San Francisco in June to receive coaching and fine-tuning, and network with new and old fellows from around the world. “The eventual goal for Tech Era is to raise a generation of IT literates who will use technology to solve problems in Africa and also help create employment avenues for the participants,” adds Derick.