ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) on Wednesday revealed that some 53 million out-of-school girls and young women in Africa require innovative digital platforms to address their daily challenges and dreams.

The 55-member pan African bloc, in a statement issued on Wednesday, stressed that "the information and communication technologies are a powerful tool for the out-of-school girls and young women in Africa to address their daily challenges and dreams."

The AU also stressed that digital revolution offers an opportunity to empower girls and young women by developing their creativity and enhancing their entrepreneurial skills through problem-solving approaches, placing the latter at the heart of innovators' community.

"ICTs also transform the learning experiences of marginalized people and give them the opportunity to benefit from learning resources both online and offline," an AU statement issued on Wednesday read.

According to the AU, harnessing the digital revolution implies a holistic transformation of not only the formal and informal education systems but also of the whole African society.

"As a matter of fact, there is a need for the education system to take into account the specificity of girls' and young women's needs through gender-responsive policies promoting gender mainstreaming in education and ICT policies, to break stereotypes hindering girls' participation in science, technology and math fields," the statement read.

The pan African bloc also urged African countries to adopt policy frameworks that drive the digital revolution of education systems with a full understanding of gender specificity within the education ecosystem.

The AU also proposed a strategic collaboration between the private sector, the civil society, and the government so as to scale up the different initiatives that are currently implemented to attract more out-of-school girls in ICTs and science education. Enditem

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