Innovations help SAP Africa code week inspire next generation of African coders

SAP Africa Code Week, Africa’s biggest digital skills initiative, is celebrating a successful 2020 program that included a switch to all-virtual teaching, the launch of a smartphone app, a continent-wide coding competition and a host of online Train-the-Trainer sessions aimed at empowering teachers with critical digital teaching skills.

A statement released from the African Media Agencvy (AMA) today in Johannesburg, South Africa, indicates that the 2020 programme had to contend with the impact of a global pandemic that forced the closure of schools across the continent and left an estimated 250 million youth away from physical classrooms.

Claudio Muruzabal, Regional President Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) South at SAP and Africa Code Week Executive Sponsor, notes the programme’s impact on enabling sustainable coding learning for youth across Africa. “In the face of immense challenges, ACW’s thriving ecosystem of partners, ambassadors, volunteers, teachers and students stepped up to ensure that girls and boys across the continent could learn the critical digital skills they need to build a better future. The programme’s impact on transforming digital learning at school level is further ensuring every African child has an opportunity to become an active contributor to the global digital economy.”

The ACW vision is to encourage African governments to adopt coding in their national curricula. In a survey conducted in participating countries in 2020, nine African countries indicated that coding is a part of the national curriculum, and ten more indicated they are implementing plans to incorporate coding within their curricula. The survey also found that 87% of respondents agreed that the programme plays an influential role in advancing the adoption of coding curriculum.

In a first for the programme, the launch of the continent-wide AfriCANCode Challenge saw youth aged 8 to 16 compete individually or in teams to imagine the ‘future of education’ through a Scratch game and a two-minute video explaining why their concept should win. More than 1,800 youth from 40 African countries participated, with the top 3 winners 10-year old Soliyana Gizaw from Ethiopia, 15-year old Kayla Esterhuizen from South Africa and 16-year old Sara Benmessai from Algeria – all three of whom are girls – announced recently.

Presenting awards to the recipients in Abuja, the Minister of State for Education, Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba stated that the winners of AfriCAN Code Challenge have shown hard work, dedication and commitment.

He revealed that the African Code challenge is aimed at providing support and inspiration to inter-disciplinary teams of 8 – 16 year-old students who are knowledgeable in coding, using Scratch, which inspires innovative and critical thinking in students to improve their digital literacy in Nigeria.

He then commended the positive resolve of the Ministry to expand the Coding and Robotics programme to involve all 104 Federal Unity Colleges, adding that the Ministry has just concluded the coding and robotics training of trainers for all 104 colleges.