"The Volunteer Coordination Meeting of the Coding Tomorrow" Was Held

Volunteer Coordination Meeting was held as part of the "Coding Tomorrow" project implemented in collaboration with Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association. During the event attended by nearly 200 volunteer trainers, workshops were organized to develop the capacity of volunteers, besides the meetings on the field reflections of the project.

The fifth "Volunteer Coordination Meeting" of the"Coding Tomorrow" project, launched byVodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association to prepare our children for the digital future, was held. 200 volunteer trainers joined the online meeting with the theme of "Connected Volunteers". During the event, workshops were organized to develop the capacity of volunteers, besides the meetings on the field reflections of the project. In the fifth year of the "Coding Tomorrow" project, which has reached over 110,000 children across Turkey since August 2016, it is aimed to provide coding training to 70,000 more children via volunteer trainers.

An opening event was also held for the "Coding Tomorrow Volunteer Coordination Meeting". After the opening speeches given by the General Manager of MEB YEĞİTEK, Mr. Anıl Yılmaz, the Chair of Vodafone Turkey Foundation, Mr. Hasan Süel, and the Chair of Habitat Association, Mr. Sezai Hazır , the event continued with panels on "Next-Gen Technology and Education", "Next-Gen Competencies and Entrepreneurship", "Next-Gen Volunteering", and "Global Goals and Social Impact" attended by professional speakers. Globally-known physics engineer and inventor Canan Dağdeviren, the first Turkish scientist elected as a member of the Young Academy of Harvard University, also gave a speech at the event. Following the speeches and panels, a mini music festival, including volunteers at every stage, was also organized. The opening ceremony was broadcast live on the Habitat Association's YouTube channel.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Anıl Yılmaz, the General Manager of MEB YEĞİTEK, stated:

"The results achieved with the 'Coding Tomorrow' project under the leadership of Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association are genuinely praiseworthy. I would like to congratulate both institutions. Surely, volunteers are behind this success. We have also witnessed the significant difference the volunteer activities make, primarily during the ongoing distance education due to the global epidemic. With these two NGOs that conduct outstanding social projects on human development, we signed a protocol in February 2020 and put our joint work on an institutional basis. We had planned face-to-face coding training, especially in AI, in centers in 3 provinces. Since it is not currently possible to do so, we will conduct many other activities online soon without compromising the efficiency of in-person activities. We perform a similar activity with our 'Produce with Computing' project, consisting of learning by 3D design, coding, and smart device design. This project will be implemented as a standard curriculum with students in the 4th-7th grades in about 6,000 schools in the next academic year. I hope the 'Coding Tomorrow' project will grow much more in collaboration with our Ministry and achieve similar results."

Mr. Hasan Süel, the Chair of Vodafone Turkey Foundation , stated:

"At Vodafone Turkey Foundation, we believe that each work we do should serve a purpose. Since the beginning, we have adopted the principle of putting technology into the service of life. With our 'Coding Tomorrow' project, which we implemented 5 years ago in collaboration with the Habitat Association to improve children's technology literacy, we aim to help raise a generation that produces, not consumes. Until today, we have given coding training to over 110,000 children in 81 provinces. In the upcoming period, we aim to provide 70,000 more children under the guidance of our volunteer trainers. We also update our educational content. Besides Scratch training, we will continue to improve our children's digital competencies with digital training on various subjects. A new marathon awaits us. As it always has been, we will run together with our volunteer trainers in this marathon. We will transform our dreams for our children's future into reality with the contribution and support of our teachers. The real heroes of our voluntary basis project are our trainers. I would like to thank our volunteer trainers who share our vision and support us with great devotion. With our volunteer trainers, we will continue to prepare our children for the digital future."

Mr. Sezai Hazır, the Chair of Habitat Association , also stated:

"As Habitat Association, we believe that Turkey's digital transformation can only be completed when our children and youngster are introduced to technology literacy at an early age. Thus, they can become both the users and producers of technology. Accordingly, with our 'Coding Tomorrow' project implemented in collaboration with Vodafone Turkey Foundation, we have brought together over 110,000 children in 81 provinces of Turkey with 550 volunteers in the last five years. Besides coding training, we, with the campaigns and hackathons we have implemented, have made great efforts to help our children develop technology-centred solutions to daily problems. In our project's new phase, we will create educational content specific to diverse age groups and intensify our training in certain areas with the help of the knowledge and experience we have gained in the last five years. Here, we would like to thank our primary actors, our volunteers, who are behind the success and effectiveness of the project. I would like to congratulate all our volunteers for their priceless contributions and dedicated work to our project and, more importantly, for our country's digital transformation. We will surely achieve many successes by working together in the coming period."

Canan Dağdeviren also stated:

"Firstly, I would like to thank our volunteer teachers and trainers who teach coding to our children. With my students, we produce flexible electronic devices compatible with the body and try to understand the changes that occur in the body with these devices. In every step we take, we know that coding is highly significant. I also congratulate our students who received coding lessons and continue dreaming. Dreaming, following that dreaming, and taking it forward with the wind of science is of great significance. Here, we try to combine physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, coding, and medicine and create something new. We refine chip technologies and bring them into forms we can flex out of shape. Then, we place them inside a body and send messages to it via coding. Also, our goal is to transfer the information we receive from the body to medical doctors. By learning and sharing in science, you can achieve many successes. It is also significant for everyone to continue on their own journey. You can continue on your road without giving up, by working hard, engaging with various circles, and generating ideas. Always chase your dreams. Know that nothing in life is a waste of time and that you can do anything at any age. Our teachers' efforts are outstanding. Providing our students with such difficult subject such as coding on a voluntary basis is a great virtue. I would like to thank all our teachers for their efforts."

Professional speakers joined the event

In the "Next-Gen Technology and Education" panel held as part of the event, new century education, educational technologies, the adaptation of the education world to the processes, and its psychological effects were also discussed. Gazi University Lecturer and Founder of Informatics Garage Academy Selçuk Özdemir and Turkish-German University Distance Education Center Manager Mona Aykul attended as speakers to the panel moderated by Habitat Association Deputy Secretary General İsmail Metin.

On the other hand, in the "Next-Gen Competencies and Entrepreneurship" panel, the competencies of the new century, capacity-building methods, and entrepreneurship were discussed. The panel was moderated by Habitat Association Digital Transformation Program Director Taha Aydoğmuş and joined by speaker Erhan Erkut, Vice Rector of MEF University and Founder of Competent Youth.

In the "Next-Gen Volunteering" panel, various perspectives on how different institutions manage the concept of volunteering and how it contributes to youngsters were also shared. The panel was moderated by the Habitat Association Digital Transformation Program Project Manager, Nurdan Ertoğan, with the participation of Teacher Network General Coordinator Buket Sönmez, SosyalBen Foundation Founder Ece Çiftçi, and Private Industry Volunteers Association Project Coordinator Gizem Ece.

The last session of the event, the "Global Goals and Social Impact" panel, covered the importance of social impact, its effects compatible with the target audience, and the position of civil society and the private industry in social impact. The panel was moderated by Habitat Association Digital Transformation Program Project Manager Gizem Cansever with the participation of UNDP Turkey Communications Coordinator Faik Uyanık, imece Director Mustafa Özer, and S360 Research and Impact Design Director Seza Eraydın.

The project has reached over 110,000 children

Within the "Coding Tomorrow" project, children between 7-14 across Turkey receive theoretical and practical training by volunteer trainers on various subjects, including the introduction to programming, algorithm logic, application development, storytelling, and game development. Our training helps our children understand programming, work to bring out their creativity, create their imaginary worlds, and produce their games. To date, 550 volunteer trainers and 38 teachers registered at the Ministry of National Education in different branches have joined the project, which reached over 110,000 children in 81 provinces. While the project achieved 6,6 million TRY of social value last year, each investment of 1 TRY for the project yielded a social return of 4,4 TRY.

Expanded training scope

With the "Coding Tomorrow" project, it is aimed to provide coding training to 70,000 more children in 81 provinces in the next year. For the upcoming period, children's digital competencies will be improved with digital training on various subjects, besides Scratch. Accordingly, children aged 7-10 receive Scratch and Tinkercad training, children aged 11-14 receive Scratch and Microbit training, and children aged 14-17 receive mobile application development, game, and Artificial Intelligence training. Due to the epidemic, training and events, including hackathons and ideathons, will be held online. Moreover, youngsters will be able to attend online groups within The Clubhouse Network, a business partner of the project. Vocational high schools will also be included in AI training to improve the digital competencies of employable youth.