The nine-day event was aimed at introducing coding to 150 000 young Africans, aged eight to 24, through free coding workshops and online courses ranging from Scratch all the way to Web programming.
Founded and orchestrated by SAP in partnership with the Cape Town Science Centre and the Galway Education Centre, Africa Code Week relies on a growing network of nonprofits, government bodies, educational organisations, NGOs and corporations across the continent. For the second year in a row, Google Inc. supported Africa Code Week by empowering organisations across Africa with micro-grants so they could multiply computational thinking and coding activities all over Africa using Google CS First enrichment materials.
“Beyond coding as the 21st-century language, we are imparting the right skills and attitudes and a culture of innovation and creativity among young Africans”, says Claire Gillissen-Duval, director or EMEA corporate social responsibility at SAP and Africa Code Week Global lead. “Africa Code Week sheds light on how public-private partnerships can be renewed in the digital age for greater scale and impact: if young Africans see that governments, non-profits, and the private sector are working as one voice to deliver on joint education priorities, trust is seeded, and they feel encouraged to start owning and living their dreams,” she concludes.
Africa Code Week received a
C4F (Communication for Future) award in the category
Education of the Future from the World Communications Forum, in Davos, in March, as well as the
Judges' Choice Award in the
Corporate Initiative Category from the MIT Inclusive Innovation Competition, in September.
For more information, visit
africacodeweek.org. Alternatively, connect with them on
Facebook or on
Twitter.