Youngsters Have Created Solutions for Communication in the Time of Natural Disasters for the "Coding Tomorrow" Idea Marathon

As part of the "Coding Tomorrow" project implemented with the collaboration of Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Habitat Association, the second online idea marathon for middle school and high school students was held. "In the idea marathon organized with the theme "Communication and 5G for Natural Disasters", the FboTech team won first prize in the Middle School category with their "Smart Sewage System", while the Not Found team, with their "Instant Fire Detection with Video Processing Cameras" project, took first place in the High School category.

Implemented by Vodafone Turkey Foundation andHabitat Association, the "Coding Tomorrow" project continues to prepare children and youth for the digital future. The second online idea marathon organized as part of the project, which reached over 192,000 children across Turkey, was held with the theme of "Communication and 5G for Natural Disasters". While the event was organized with the participation of middle and high school students, the participating teams were asked to use smart technologies and develop solutions to possible communication problems in a natural disaster. Based on their fields of expertise, Vodafone employees also provided mentorship to the participants. "In the idea marathon applied by 61 teams, the FboTech team won first prize in the Middle School category with their"Smart Sewage System", while theNot Found team, with their "Instant Fire Detection with Video Processing Cameras" project, took first place in the High School category.

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 192,000 children in 81 provinces. With the online idea marathons we organize for middle school and high school students, we aim to help our students create stories that will produce solutions to well-known social problems. In our second idea marathon, our students focused on using the power of technology and creating solutions to communication problems that may occur during a natural disaster. Vodafone employees also provided mentorship to the participant students. We congratulate each of our participants, especially the top three teams."

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

"With our 'Coding Tomorrow' project, we reach more children every day. It is a source of happiness and joy, not only for us but also for our country. Since the beginning of our project, we have provided training to over 192,000 children. We continue to help our children become the most significant agents in Turkey's digitalization process, learn the digital world's language, and produce digital solutions to modern problems. With our idea marathon, we once again established children can develop creative ideas for today's problems when adequate opportunities are provided. We will continue to work to boost their creative ideas and implement them. We should also remember that the 21st century will be a period where individuals with high digital competencies transform and lead societies."

The preliminary jury evaluated 33 teams

33 of the 61 teams that applied for the "Communication and 5G for Natural Disasters" idea marathon met all the conditions and submitted their presentations and business model canvases to the preliminary jury. The preliminary jury evaluated the applications according to the Middle School and High School categories. After the qualification of the preliminary jury, five teams for each category went forward to the jury to submit their presentations. Based on the jury's evaluation, the FboTech team, consisting of Serdar Taşpınar and Çağan Aras Çağlar, won first place in the Middle School group with their "Smart Sewerage System" project. Also, the LWYS team, consisting of İlkim Derin Ören, Emin İşler, and Berk Can Yıldız, earned second place with their"Smart Bracelet for Natural Disasters" project, while the Garage Power team, consisting of Furkan Alp Özdemir and Sadullah Efe Demir, came in third with their "Drone Capable of Locating Under Wreckage" project.

In the high school category, the Not Found team, consisting of Eda Tosun, Pelin Sarp, and Tarık Yılmaz, took first place with their "Instant Fire Detection with Video Processing Cameras" project. Neuro Norm team, consisting of Feridun Pınarbaşı, Ömer Hakim, Samet Şeyhanlıoğlu, and Özgür Doğu Oğuz, came in second with their "Drone Capable of Detecting Location and Slowing Fire During Fire" project, while the DroneX team, consisting of Berk Yalçın and Yankı Güven Kırlıkova, earned third place with their "Drone Capable of Detecting Before Landslide and Avalanche" project.

In both categories, the winning teams were awarded technology gift cards worth 15,000 TRY, 10,000 TRY, and 5,000 TRY, respectively.

The project has reached over 192,000 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 192,000 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.