About Us

Savana Signature (SavSign) is a registered Non-Governmental Organization that has developed keen interest in the empowerment of youth and women through education. This is done mainly through and with the use of Information and Communication Technologies. Realizing that the development as a Nation and the North in particular will be much swifter when the development of the minds of the youth and women becomes a fundamental resources, Savana Signatures seeks to use ICT as a catalyst for rapid development.

MISSION
“To promote the development of youth and women through education and knowledge sharing”

VISION
To have a society where all have equal access to quality education

THEMATIC AREAS

• Mainstreaming ICTs into Education
• ICTs  and Gender
• Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Development
• Knowledge Sharing
• Institutional ICT Capacity building and Development
• Research on ICTs for development

Strategic Objectives

• To build the capacity of women to access information for their social and economic growth
• To build the capacity of youth to use ICTs for entrepreneurial development
• To train teachers and students on how to integrate ICTs into teaching and learning in the classroom
• To  re-orient the youth and women in the use of  ICTs for entrepreneurial growth and advancement
• To guide students in choosing an appropriate career path
• To research into ICT for Development (ICT4D) with a focus on Youth and Women.

ACTIVITIESFEMALE ICT TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (FICTTA)
One of our flagship programs is the Female ICT Teachers Association (FICTTA).Having identified the low female participation in ICTs, the organization has come out with several strategies to improve upon female participation in ICT.

One of such strategies in the formation of the Female ICT Teachers Association (FICTTA).The Association currently has 37 active members. They are given regular ICT training at the SavSign ICT Centre. While members meet in badges daily for ICT training, Members hold their general meetings on the last Friday of every month at 3pm at the Savana Signatures office.

FICTTA has a mission to improve the skills and capabilities of female teachers in using I.C.T.
It has a Vision to have an increase in the number of female ICT teachers
The objectives of FICTTA are

• To raise awareness of ICT among female teachers
• To build the capacity of female ICT teachers
• To make visible female I.C.T. role models
• To advocate more professional development for women teachers in the area of technology
• To promote programmes in schools that will encourage girls to undertake studies in I.C.T.
• To encourage partnership among schools, women groups and industry to increase the number of girls working and studying in I.C.T. fields.

Membership to the group is free and is open to all female teachers who wish to be trained become ICT teachers.

SavSign school clubs
There is an increasing awareness by teachers and students in some schools in Northern Region about the need to acquire basic ICT education with a view to having access to knowledge and coping with the advances of information and communication technologies.One way of gaining ICT knowledge in the Region is the creation of a common forum for both teachers and students.

ICT clubs organized at schools through concerted efforts of Savana Signatures in collaboration with school’s management, teachers and students would be ideal for the advancement of ICT in schools.The clubs were formed to raise awareness on ICT and to provide basic computer training to its teacher and student members, search for all sorts of assistance to run the club and implement a networking system for the school.Currently Savana Signatures actively runs 8 ICT clubs in 4 schools in the Savelugu Nantong District and in 3 schools in the Tamale metropolis.

All members have access to free computer training at the Savana Signatures ICT centre.

Career Guidance and Education
Savsign also engages students in both primary, Junior High Schools and Senior High Schools on knowledge sharing sessions on career paths. This is done with the help of experienced guidance and counseling experts.

Knowledge sharing sessions
Savana Signatures also organizes knowledge sharing sessions on ICT and health related issues and recently on climate change.

Northern ICT4D Series
Northern ICT4D Series is a monthly community ICT forum that affords stakeholders the opportunity to interact and share ideas on various topical issues in the digital economy.

The Northern ICT4D series is held on the last Thursday of every month in Tamale at the Northern Regional Library Conference Hall.

The event brings together members of the development, educational, health and ICT community and the general public to share, learn and exchange ideas. Savana Signatures is partnering the Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing, GINKS (www.ginks.org) to organize this monthly forum in the Northern Region of Ghana.

Research
In 2010, Savana Signatures partnered with the Initiative for Integrated Development, a Tamale based sister NGO to conduct a survey on the state of ICTs in educational institutions in some selected districts in Northern Ghana.

PARTNERSHIP
Savana Signatures is open to all partnerships that is geared towards the realization of its Mission and Vision
Presently, Savsign is partnering the following organizations for various programmes and activities:

• • Radboud University – Netherlands
  • International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
  • E-Learning for Kids – Netherlands
  • Ghana Information Network for knowledge sharing (GINKS)
  • Northern Regional Library
  • UN Volunteers