KIA marks girls in aviation day
Last Saturday, Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark another Girls in Aviation Day, the day set aside to foster and inspire female participation in aviation related jobs.
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This year’s celebration, which is the nineth edition, was organised globally by the various chapters of Women in Aviation International (WAI).
In Ghana, the event was held at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra by WAI, Ghana Chapter comprising women professionals working in the aviation industry.
Selected students from Accra Girls, Temasco, Ola Girls, Lashibi and Afia Kobi Senior High Schools were privileged to have been sponsored for this year’s celebration.
Formation of Ghana Chapter
The President of the WAI Ghana Chapter, Juliet Okae, at the forum, stated that the Ghana Chapter was established in 2015 to bring all the women in aviation together.
She said the formation of the chapter was significant because it serves as an avenue to share ideas and basically harness the potential of Africa's youth, especially young girls.
She said the girls in aviation was a flagship programme for the umbrella body, Women in Aviation International organised annually to inspire young girls to take up professions in the aviation industry.
Ms Okae who is the deputy Director-General in-charge of the Finance and Administration at the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), underlined the need to catch them young and prepare them for the future.
She added that WAI Ghana Chapter was looking at creating aviation clubs in Senior High Schools (SHS) to whip up interest in the youth, especially girls.
Congratulation
In her remarks, the Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Pamela Djamson-Tettey, congratulated the WAI, Ghana Chapter for organising the event.
She noted the diverse, evolving and fast-paced nature of the aviation industry with women professionals blazing the trail in their respective areas such as airline managers, aircraft engineers, flight stewards, air traffic controllers, and a host of other professions.
She urged the young girls to take advantage of the opportunity by participating fully in the various educational sessions and tours so that they could share their experiences with their colleagues in school.
Enormous potential
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Tampuli, noted that there was enormous potential in the aviation industry that was yet to be harnessed.
He encouraged young girls at the event to consider themselves as the privileged few for the kind of exposure being offered and study hard to achieve their full potential.
He highlighted the critical roles women were playing within the aviation industry and challenged the young girls to emulate the strides and aim for careers in the industry.
Women in Aviation
Women in Aviation International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of women in all aviation and aerospace career fields and interests.
It offered educational outreach programmes to young girls, national and internationally, through initiatives such as the Annual Girls in Aviation Day.