Last Friday (29th January) saw the final preparations for the Girl Code 2.0 project get underway!
Funded by the Tampon Tax Fund, via the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Girl Code is a programme that aims to encourage girls aged 11 – 16 to develop an interest in tech, computers and STEM. We use a curriculum of creative technology, from basic coding skills to world building using games such as Minecraft, as well as traditional youth work methodologies, to introduce coding and tech in an accessible and fun manner.
After a highly successful pilot year in 2019 – where activities were centred around the Mid-Ulster and Mid & East Antrim regions – Bytes secured a second year’s funding to trial Girl Code with young people in the North West region. However, delays due to COVID-19 and the face-to-face nature of delivery of Girl Code, meant that this was postponed until January 2021. Having reconfigured the programme for online delivery, and secured funding to provide participants with the hardware they need to engage remotely, we are thrilled to be finally starting this new chapter of the programme.
Staff at Sunlea Youth Centre, Coleraine, taking delivery of tablets for Girl Code 2.0
Project Manager Sarah Geddis delivered over 30 tablets to kickstart the programme to St Olcan’s Primary School, Armoy; Sunlea Youth Centre Coleraine; and Harpur’s Hill Primary School. Young people from these three hubs will receive tablets and technical support to enable them to participate in the programme remotely.
Sessions with pupils from Harpur’s Hill start tomorrow (2nd February), with Sunlea Youth Centre kicking off on Wednesday (3rd February) and we can’t wait to see how Girl Code 2.0 develops!
