The 18th edition of the ThinkYoung Coding School organised in partnership with Boeing has started today in Kigali, Rwanda. The school contributes to the digital skills development among kids and teenagers aged 9-18, 60% of whom are girls.
Rwanda’s national aspirations include becoming an important information and communication technology (ICT) hub of Sub-Saharan Africa. The country is heavily investing in its ICT infrastructure and future talent.
Kuljit Ghata-Aura, Boeing President in the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, said: “Rwanda is evolving into an emerging aviation and tech hub in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the number of start-ups increasing exponentially. The Coding School supports these efforts by helping the younger generation in the country to obtain the necessary digital skills and to increase their future employment opportunities.”
More than 70% of the students who participated in the previous editions of the Coding School in Rwanda, mentioned they became interested in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers and realised that coding would be vital for their future work.
“The Coding School taught me a lot about robotics and coding, I hope to become an engineer one day!”, said Iradukunda Esther (14), the student of the Coding School in Rwanda.
“Since 2019, we have been growing in Africa, where we trained over 400 teenagers including 62 kids in Kigali. We believe Rwanda has the potential to lead the digital transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa and be globally competitive. Together with Boeing, we are committed to the future of the region and we want to ensure that all young people have access to quality STEM education,” said Andrea Gerosa, Founder of ThinkYoung.
Since 2016, ThinkYoung and Boeing have introduced more than 1,400 teenagers to coding in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, as well as in several European countries. More than 150 teenagers – 60% of whom are girls – will benefit from free-of-charge lessons in computer programming through the ThinkYoung Coding School bootcamps on the African continent in 2023.
Every edition of the Coding School welcomes between 60% and 70% of girls interested in taking their first steps in coding and learning the language of the future. The project aims to break the stereotype that STEM is not for women. One of the programme’s key goals is to promote gender equity by giving girls early computer science experiences. The programme builds a supportive environment to make girls interested in science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM) careers.
ThinkYoung is the first think tank that focuses on young people. It was founded in 2009 and has expanded to have offices in Brussels, Geneva, Hong Kong, and Nairobi. It is a not-for-profit organization, aiming to make the world a better place for young people by involving them in decision-making processes and providing decision-makers with high-quality research on youth conditions. ThinkYoung conducts studies and surveys, makes advocacy campaigns, writes policy proposals, and develops education programmes: up to date, ThinkYoung projects have reached over 800,000 young people. (End).