A group of nearly 40 students gathered around tables crowded with laptops in a classroom at Laboratoria, a social enterprise in Lima, Peru, that teaches young women to code. Beyond learning technical skills and building websites, the girls also gain confidence in their own skills, said Ana Maria Martinez, one of the four cofounders of the shop.
Earlier this month students from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe participated in the third annual Hour of Code. The event’s continued growth across the world demonstrates the increasingly global reach of digital literacy initiatives. But despite momentum from social enterprises, supportive policies from a growing number of governments, and events like Computer Science Education Week that unite these efforts, the global development community can do more to ensure that coding will become a part of a basic education.
Teaching kids how to use computers but not how to understand their algorithmic language is like teaching them to read but not to write, said Cristina Pombo Rivera of the Inter-American Development Bank.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
