How charities can run their very own youth coding events

How are you preparing for your event being virtual as opposed to face to face? What changes are you making/ new technology are you using?

Throughout the last 15 weeks of lockdown, we have been delivering online code events and hackathons so we are now well prepared to deliver this event. We will supply digitally excluded young people with laptops, webcams and other equipment to take part in this event. We’ve also changed our delivery content to reflect the teaching requirements of online learning.

What advice would you give to other organisations thinking of running their own online youth coding events?

Contact an established organisation that is already delivering online events or youth related code events. Ask them questions or take part in their events and then try to replicate. You can change to reflect your organisation’s identity or to reflect your local area and suit their needs.

The Globe Community Library

The Globe Community Library is staffed entirely by volunteers. They serve the town of Stokesley and the surrounding area. The Globe provides a safe environment for people to meet up, browse the library for books or videos or join one of their clubs. We caught up with Trustee Peter Chandler to learn more about how they’ll be using Meet and Code to help their service users.

How do you think your event(s) will benefit young people?

Even in normal times, teenagers and young adults are silently at risk of isolation and poor mental health. Now COVID-19 has also created many new young carers and lack of school support is disproportionately affecting the poorest in our midst. Our Meet and Code grant funded event, the Online Community Shed, can change that. The virtual event series will be letting like-minded people meet online to learn new coding skills, share worries and create new relationships.

Why do you think digital/technological skills are so important for young people to have?

Virtually everything we do today requires the use of technology so it is vital that young people are tech-savvy.

How are you preparing for your event being virtual as opposed to face to face? What changes are you making/ new technology are you using?

We are evaluating online meeting services including Microsoft Teams, Airtable, Zoom, Facetime and Skype. One of our volunteers is also an Alexa Developer, so we may be able to include this as well as artificial intelligence and robotics, such as Arduino, Linux or Python-driven.

How will you use the grant money towards your virtual coding event?

We expect that we will need to pay a license fee to use some of the Cloud-based software. We’ll also be paying to provide Raspberry Pis, iPads or Laptops (on loan) to some of the participants.

What advice would you give to other organisations thinking of running their own online youth coding events?

Give it a go! The young people who take part really enjoy it and get a lot of benefit from learning and sharing knowledge with each other.