EQS-News: Meet and Code 2022 Ensures no Child is Left Behind with Digital Learning

Meet and Code 2022 Ensures no Child is Left Behind with Digital Learning

Meet and Code supported over 1,000 fun and interactive workshops hosted by non-profit organizations (NPOs) across 21 European countries

12 December 2022: Europe’s biggest digital skills initiative, Meet and Code (www.Meet-and-Code.org) continues to reach young people and children from all walks of life to conquer the digital divide, ensuring that no one is left behind with 21^st century skills. Aligned with EU Code Week (https://CodeWeek.eu/), which takes place from 8 - 23 October, Meet and Code workshops reached over 33,700 young people across Europe, with approximately one-third of the workshop participants citing that they have a refugee background.

Gabriele Hartmann, Senior Director of MEE Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP, says Europe has historically struggled to close its digital divide, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had the potential to exacerbate the digital literacy crisis. “Meet and Code took this into consideration and ensured that Ukrainian youth were still able to improve their digital skills as part of its goal to empower youth across the continent, especially those who are underserved.”

Spotlight on Ukraine

She adds that this was crucial as of the 6 million Ukrainians who fled to neighboring countries, nearly 665,000 were students, and over 25,000 were educators. “Despite the ongoing invasion of Russia Federation in Ukraine, young Ukrainians were more than eager to learn how to code with over 3,600 participants taking part being Ukrainian refugees based in Europe."

Meet and Code supported over 1,000 fun and interactive workshops hosted by non-profit organizations (NPOs) across 21 European countries. To assist in hosting and facilitating the workshops, funding of up to 500 euros per event is provided. 

Anna Sienicka, Vice President at TechSoup, says that at Meet and Code, the initiative’s goal is to change society by accelerating the transition to a digital economy that requires solid digital competencies. “Boosting digital skills at all levels helps increase growth and innovation; it builds a fairer, more cohesive, sustainable, and inclusive society.”

“Our vision is to ensure that youth from all walks of life, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented, have access to learning digital skills,” she explains. “Every year, we continue to increase our efforts to reach every young person, and the numbers show. The 2022 edition of Meet and Code saw an increase of 16% in events taking place in small villages and rural towns.”

Advancing Digital Skills through partnerships

Referring to statistics by the World Economic Forum (https://bit.ly/3WcFblk), which estimates that by 2025, 97 million new jobs could emerge from the introduction of machines and algorithms, Clemens Frede, Managing Director at Haus des Stiftens says ensuring that the youth across Europe can take advantage of this wouldn’t be possible without the NPOs and partners. 

“Without them, we would not have been able to continue to provide these skills to those from lower-income households (40% of participants), those who don’t have access to their own IT device (35%), and to work towards closing the gender gap in the world of technology through our 42% of female participants that joined this year,” he adds.  “On behalf of Meet and Code, we would like to thank everyone who selflessly played their part in making sure that young Europeans have the necessary skills to participate in future job markets.”

Since 2017, the initiative has successfully reached 243,000 young people between the ages of 8 - 24 in 35 European countries, enabling more than 6,700 coding projects hosted by local non-profits.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Meet and Code.

Download image: https://bit.ly/3USeZeW

About Meet and Code

Each year, Meet and Code takes place throughout September and October. The founding partners are SAP, Haus des Stiftens, and TechSoup Europe. In 2021, Amazon joined as a local partner in Germany, and it expanded its partnership this year to include working with Meet and Code in Austria, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain to support children and young people on their journey toward a digital future. To learn more about Meet and Code, visit www.Meet-and-Code.org or follow them on Twitter or connect on Facebook and Instagram.