Youngsters Have Created Global Health Solutions for the "Coding Tomorrow" Idea Marathon

The third idea marathon was held online as part of "Coding Tomorrow", a Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association joint project. In the idea marathon organized with the theme of "Gaming for Global Health", the teams developed their unique games on the climate crisis, Covid-19, and one health. The Covid Coder team has won the marathon.

Implemented by Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association, the "Coding Tomorrow" project continues to prepare children and youth for the digital future. The third idea marathon organized within the project, which has reached over 210,000 children across Turkey, was held online with the theme of "Gaming for Global Health". While high school students joined the event, the participating teams developed games for global health. Upon completing Unity training before the idea marathon on the website yarinikodlayanlar.com/en/, the participating teams developed their unique games on the climate crisis, Covid-19, and one health after attending training and mentoring sessions for 2 days. Of the22 teams that applied to the idea marathon, 6 of them passed the preliminary elimination.

In the competition, the Covid Coder team, Mustafa Emircan Güven (17) and Ahmet Yıldız (16), won first place. While Kodlamaker team, Alper Soyer (14), Berat Nur Tanburacı (12), Oğuzhan Serin (12), and Muhammed Emin Solak (12), came in second, the Novator team, Güray Kıncı (16), Kadir Umut Gülsevin (17), Mehmet Salih Beşkavak (16), and Yiğit Yalçın (16), took the third place.

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

"As Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association, we eagerly continue our 'Coding Tomorrow' project, which we launched six years ago to raise generations ready for the digital future. When we were considering how to use technology for humanity's good and respond to a social need of society, we decided to do a project first to increase people's technology literacy and their tendency to use technology, starting with children. Thus, in collaboration with the Habitat Association, we started teaching our children aged 7-14 to code, the digital world language, in August 2016. With our 'Coding Tomorrow' project, we aim to contribute to raising a generation that produces, not consumes. Until today, we have given coding training to over 210,000 children in 81 provinces. With online idea marathons, we aim to help our children and youngsters find solutions to concrete social problems. In our third idea marathon, our students developed unique games on the climate crisis, Covid-19, and one health. We congratulate each of our participants, especially the top three teams."

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

"We feel right happy and proud to expand the scope of our Coding Tomorrow project, which we implemented with the collaboration of Vodafone Turkey Foundation 5 years ago and helped over 210,000 children in Turkey's 81 provinces meet with coding. The previous years have shown us that learning how to code is as important as literacy. With our project, we develop processes that guide national and international digital transformation, thereby contributing to the prepare our children for the digital world of the future. In our "Gaming Hackathon for Global Health" organized as part of our project, children and youngsters who pay regard to the past and present effects of the Covid-19 pandemic expanded their ideas, utilized smart technologies, created solutions to the global health problems of today and near future, and developed games online. I would like to congratulate all our participants and winners, wishing them continued success."

The project has reached over 210,000 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. As part of the "Coding Tomorrow", which has reachedover 210,000 children in 81 provinces to date, 6,6 million TRY of social value was obtained last year, and each investment of 1 TRY for the project yielded a social return of 4,4 TRY.