The initiative is supported by several companies across different industries who hope even more companies will join.
“Cisco, Homenet, Schibsted and Finn are together contributing to The Code Bank so that we can continue to develop important opportunities for children and young people across the country. We are now inviting more partners to join,” says CEO at Lær Kidsa Koding, Herdis Moldøen.
“The Lær Kidsa Koding initiative influences direction, attitudes and curriculum in Norwegian schools. Programming and technology have gone from being relevant for a few selected to something that characterizes business, industry and the public sector. Whether you are a fisherman, work in hospitals or the media, you need to master digital solutions. Schibsted aims to increase understanding and interest in programming through the organization Lær Kidsa Coding, so that Norway becomes a competitive and digitally competent society for the future,” says Sven Størmer Thaulow Chief Data & Technology Officer at Schibsted.
Over the years, the volunteers at Lær Kidsa Koding have been productive: they have registered 190 registered coding clubs, and assisted authorities, school administrations and teachers in introducing coding and programming into schools. They have also made key English online teaching material available in Norwegian, and the organization has also had a considerable amount of in-house development. More than 300,000 children have participated as digital creators during the annual coding hour (kodetimen) held at schools across the country.
The more the merrier!
Now Lær Kidsa Koding is looking for additional support to provide coding clubs and programmes and other code activities for children and young people, and are inviting more companies to become partners in their “The Code Bank” (Kodebanken). The partners will have a long-term responsibility within the industry and in society as a whole. Lær Kidsa Koding is a visible and important community project that has delivered value from day one in 2013.
“Although our children are born into a digital reality, it is important to put tech education on the agenda for our youngest generation. For us, it is about supporting and taking greater responsibility in children’s understanding of technology, and hopefully inspiring more children and young people to choose technology-oriented careers and education as they grow. Lær Kidsa Koding is a fantastic initiative that truly supports this,” says Christian Printzell Halvorsen, EVP Nordic Marketplaces and CEO of FINN.no
Lær Kidsa Coding encourages Code Bank partners to:
- Arrange a corporate code club for employees’ children
- Have open events, preferably in collaboration with Learn Kidsa Coding
- Show that they are partners both internally and externally
- Highlight the partnership in external communication
- Invite Learn Kidsa Coding to give lectures internally and interview in internal media
- Attend partner meetings
You can find more information on https://www.kidsakoder.no/partnere/.
Schibsted coding camps for kids
FINN and Schibsted have held their own coding camps over the last few years. As an initiative to support this work, the companies will collaborate with LKK to enable more kids to learn the language of tomorrow. Technological developments are racing ahead faster than anyone could have anticipated. Schibsted aims to take advantage of these new possibilities and to teach our children to master the basics, as well as encourage them to dream big.