Western Kingston schoolgirls build AI ideas for climate readiness

Girls from Denham Town and Tivoli Gardens high schools in western Kingston spent Wednesday learning how technology can be used to tackle environmental problems, during a practical AI and climate change session supported by Digicel Foundation and STEM Spark Solutions.

The organisations staged the Girls in ICT Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change Hackathon at Denham Town High School, bringing together female students from both institutions for a day centred on problem-solving, teamwork and digital skills.

The event formed part of Digicel Foundation’s wider Girls in ICT programme, which is aimed at helping more young women enter technology by building their knowledge, confidence and exposure to real-world digital tools.

Students examined how artificial intelligence could assist with climate-related threats, including predicting severe weather, monitoring changes in the environment and creating community-level responses to help people better withstand climate shocks.

Digicel Foundation CEO Charmaine Daniels said girls must be deliberately included as AI becomes more influential across society. “We are at a pivotal moment in history where artificial intelligence is reshaping every industry, every profession, and every aspect of daily life. If we do not intentionally bring our girls into this space now, we risk leaving an entire generation behind. Exposing girls to AI and ICT is about giving them the tools to protect their families, their communities, and their environment. That is exactly what today is about,” said Daniels.

Disaster preparedness was a major focus of this year’s hackathon, a subject that resonated with several of the participants after their experience with Category 5 Hurricane Melissa last October. The students looked at ways AI could be used ahead of, during and after disasters to improve warning systems, organise emergency action and help communities recover.

Engineer and STEM Spark Solutions CEO Dianne Plummer said the programme was shaped by what the girls had already lived through. “These girls know what it feels like when a Category 5 hurricane tears through your neighbourhood, when the lights go out, the roads flood, and the community is left to piece itself back together. What we wanted to show them today is that AI gives us the power to prepare better, respond faster, and recover smarter,” said Plummer. “When a young woman from Tivoli or Denham Town can build a climate model or design an early warning system, she becomes part of the solution,” added Plummer.

Participants responded with enthusiasm, bringing creativity and focus to the challenge. For Ameerah Burke, a grade nine student at Denham Town High, the hackathon was her first meaningful encounter with artificial intelligence. “When they showed us how AI can predict where a storm will hit and help plan where people should go, it made me think differently about what I can do. We went through a hurricane, and I remember how scary it was not knowing what was coming. If AI can help with that, I want to be one of the people who builds those systems,” said Burke.