MINISTER of state in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining Julian Robinson says an advisory board has been established to guide the activities of the Jamaican Girls Who Code programme.

The board, of which Robinson is the only male, was established earlier this year, and followed the staging of the inaugural Girls Who Code summer camp in 2014.

“It (the advisory board) is to map out the types of things we want to do with the young ladies, not just in summer, but to have a continuous environment where they can be learning even in school,” Minister Robinson said.

He was speaking at the award ceremony for 40 primary school students who participated in the 2015 Jamaican Girls Who Code summer camp. The function was held Tuesday at the General Accident Training Room in St Andrew.

Robinson said the advisory board’s immediate plan is to get the girls to continue utilising the coding technology in their community.

He said the board will also be looking at how the Tablets in School programme can be leveraged to benefit the young ladies.

The junior minister noted that the objective is to get more women involved in the technology industry.

“We want to close the gap in the disparity that exists between males and females in tech-related industries,” he said.

He hailed the Jamaican Girls Who Code programme, which is in partnership with the Musson and Seprod Foundations, noting that it “provides a platform to expose them (girls) to what they can use the technology to do”.