{"id":160219,"date":"2021-09-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=160219"},"modified":"2021-09-08T06:17:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T11:17:18","slug":"ictp-171-fostering-innovation-among-our-youth-to-swing-for-the-fences-with-safiya-olugbala-of-we-code-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/09\/ictp-171-fostering-innovation-among-our-youth-to-swing-for-the-fences-with-safiya-olugbala-of-we-code-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 171:  Fostering innovation among our youth to swing for the fences, with Safiya Olugbala, of WE CODE CARIBBEAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Can true digital natives thrive in our traditional education system of the Caribbean? The short answer is no. The technology-based social enterprise, WE CODE CARIBBEAN, seeks to give Caribbean youth the requisite tools to be\u00a0absolutely disruptive. In our conversation with WE CODE CARIBBEAN\u2019s Founder and CEO, Safiya Olugbala, she discusses: her journey to start WE CODE CARIBBEAN; the ways in which the organisation is leveraging technology; how as an NGO WE CODE CARIBBEAN is addressing profitability\/sustainability; and what she hopes the organisation will achieve.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1120844191&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-171-fostering-innovation\" title=\"ICTP 171:  Fostering innovation among our youth to swing for the fences, with Safiya Olugbala, of WE CODE CARIBBEAN\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 171:  Fostering innovation among our youth to swing for the fences, with Safiya Olugbala, of WE CODE CARIBBEAN<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you think about it, children and imagination go hand in hand. However, frequently, educational and societal constructs disrupt that imagination to ensure conformity, resulting in lots people who can follow orders, but very few who can lead and \u2018think outside the box\u2019. At the same time, innovative people, particularly those who go on to do great things, but who previously would be considered \u2018troublemakers\u2019 and \u2018non-conformists\u2019, are lauded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As much as culture and societal norms and mores are influencing our attitudes and behaviour, our education system is compounding the situation, as it is shaping how we think. For decades, it has been argued that the Caribbean region\u2019s education system is outdated. It was developed as we emerged from our colonial past, and does not fully addressed the needs and imperatives of today, and of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The comprehensive revision of the Caribbean education system is a mammoth undertaking, which requires the participation and support of the participating countries. Moreover, as individual countries and as a region as a whole, it would appear that we are not yet ready to tackle that behemoth. However, in various quarters, individuals are beginning to chip away at the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are continuing our series on technology-based social enterprises; that is, tech businesses that have social impact among their core objectives. And the venture we will be discussing is <strong>WE CODE CARIBBEAN<\/strong>, which currently operates primarily in Trinidad and Tobago, and was established in 2019. WE CODE CARIBBEAN seeks to ensure that Caribbean digital natives have access to opportunities in technology, and to develop much needed skills to navigate the world of today\u2026 and tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"160222\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/09\/ictp-171-fostering-innovation-among-our-youth-to-swing-for-the-fences-with-safiya-olugbala-of-we-code-caribbean\/safiya-olugbala-s-olugbala\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?fit=493%2C506&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"493,506\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Safiya Olugbala (S Olugbala)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Safiya Olugbala&lt;br \/&gt;\nWE CODE CARIBBEAN &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?fit=292%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?fit=493%2C506&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?resize=370%2C380&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-160222\" width=\"370\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?w=493&amp;ssl=1 493w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Safiya-Olugbala-S-Olugbala.jpg?resize=292%2C300&amp;ssl=1 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><figcaption>Safiya Olugbala <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/safiya-olugbala-50669918a?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAACyYgJYBu-A05l-ZneH-mL5uyWl9hTw5tF0&amp;lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3B2YFzC0m%2BQSSN6nJBLpuAxg%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safiya Olugbala<\/a><\/strong> is the Founder cam Chief Executive Officer of WE CODE CARIBBEAN, a women led non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Trinidad, that focuses on inspiring youth, particularly girls and children from rural communities, to get involved and excited about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related fields.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ambition of WE CODE CARIBBEAN is to design a sophisticated 21st century educational ecosystem for digital natives: &nbsp;one that is driven by technology and inspired by creativity. We give youth the requisite tools to be&nbsp;absolutely disruptive. Our programs are meant to motivate digital natives to solve persistent problems throughout the Caribbean region, using code and other emerging technologies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safiya has spent over 22 years as an Educator in the area of English Language And Literature. She has studied at the University of the West Indies, reading for a degree in Literatures of English with a minor in Psychology. Then a Master&#8217;s degree in Educational Psychology at the University of the Southern Caribbean.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safiya is also the Founder of Mansa Musa Academy, an elementary home-schooling programme that merges African concepts of community and scholarship with various aspects of technology and sustainability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although WE CODE CARIBBEAN is just about two years old, it seems to be very clear and passionate about its vision and goals, and correspondingly, the fact that the current school curriculum is leaving children ill-prepared for the future. Additionally, and based on her own background, Safiya is able to relate to the trade-off people of lesser financial means frequently need to make: between opportunities for advancement to lift themselves out of poverty, and the survival of their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an educator herself, and bearing witness to the experiences of her family and those around her, who made considerable sacrifices to access quality education and thereafter, to leverage it, Safiya knows first-hand the importance of education. Moreover, and for WE CODE CARIBBEAN to achieve what it has set out to do, it cannot be shy. Like anyone who wishes to start a business, Safiya and her team must be fearless and \u2018swing for the fences\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are key questions that were posed during our conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Can you give us clearer sense of what WE CODE CARIBBEAN is about, and the services it offers?<\/li><li>Tell us a bit of your story, and what drove you to set up WE CODE CARIBBEAN?<\/li><li>Do you think of WE CODE CARIBBEAN as a social enterprise? How would you describe the social good or social impact WE CODE CARIBBEAN is pursuing?<\/li><li>How do you balance the social impact versus the sustainability\/ profitability imperatives you might have for WE CODE CARIBBEAN?<\/li><li>What are some of the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) or markers of success that are important to WE CODE CARIBBEAN?<\/li><li>What has been some of the successes WE CODE CARIBBEAN has been able to realise to date?<\/li><li>How would you describe yourself as a manager, as the leader of your organisation? What do you consider your greatest strength?<\/li><li>What has been the biggest lesson you have had to learn in running your own business?<\/li><li>Where would you like to see WE CODE CARIBBEAN in the next 3 to 5 years?<\/li><li>What is the best piece of advice you would give a tech start-up that is wants to start a social enterprise?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>We would love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>WE CODE CARIBBEAN&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wecodecaribbean\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp; |&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wecodecaribbean\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/safiya-olugbala-50669918a?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAACyYgJYBu-A05l-ZneH-mL5uyWl9hTw5tF0&amp;lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_search_srp_all%3B2YFzC0m%2BQSSN6nJBLpuAxg%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Safiya Olugbala<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/hellotractor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hello Tractor<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Camille_Wardrop_Alleyne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr Camille Wardrop Alleyne<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits:  S Olugbala;  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wecodecaribbean\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>;  Lennart Demes (<a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>);  Vlada Karpovich&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\">Pexels<\/a>);  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piqsels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piqsels<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit:  Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The technology-based social enterprise, WE CODE CARIBBEAN, seeks to give Caribbean youth the requisite tools to be absolutely disruptive. In our conversation with WE CODE CARIBBEAN\u2019s Founder and CEO, Safiya Olugbala, she discusses: her journey to start WE CODE CARIBBEAN; the ways in which the organisation is leveraging technology; how as an NGO WE CODE CARIBBEAN is addressing profitability\/sustainability; and what she hopes the organisation will achieve. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[64,49,472,470,369,227],"class_list":["post-160219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-children","tag-education","tag-gaming","tag-social-entrepreneurship","tag-software-development","tag-youth","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Featured-Image-We-Code-Caribbean.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-FGb","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160219"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160257,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160219\/revisions\/160257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}