Europe Code Week 2014
I’m coming up on this stage with the assumption that there is a fair amount of people in the audience who like coding and who believe that to be able to code is a very valuable and powerful skill. Am I right? :) In addition to that, I know for sure that many of us are really passionate about sharing what we know with others.
I really like programming communities, and especially the Ruby one in particular, because we’re pretty open and friendly to newcomers and we’re very keen on sharing our passions and knowledge with them, and with anyone for that matter. I personally have learned a great deal this way and I think that this inflow of new people and fresh ideas is what keeps us moving forward as a community.
If you agree with me, then I think you’d be interested to get involved in the upcoming Europe Code Week.
A lot of developers I talk with haven’t heard about Code Week which is a real shame.
Europe Code Week is an initiative launched for the first time last year by the Young Advisors of Neelie Kroes with some help from the European Commission. This year will be it’s second edition and it will take place from the 11th to the 17th of October.
It has a simple purpose—to get more people interested in coding by showing them that it’s fun, interesting and powerful and by bringing together thowse who are willing to teach with whose who are eager to learn.
So here’s how it’s going to work.
People from all around Europe are encouraged to organize local coding events and workshops during the Europe Code Week in October.
The events are independent from each other and anyone can organize an event as a part of Code Week—especially any of you. Up until now, there are already over 400 events participating in Code Week, from all across Europe, including ones from countries like Turkey and Moldova.
There are no requirements for the events, just recommendations. It’s preferred that the event is as beginner friendly as possible and accessible even to those with little or no previous programming experience. The target audience are people from all ages, especially students and children. The size, the format, the tools and technologies used in the events are all up to you.
Actually, any event, in any format, which will open the doors to coding to more people will do.
Okay, let’s say you want to get involved. What can you do? At least one of three things:
- Firstly, you can look for existing events in your country—get involved and help out there.
- Secondly, you can organize your own event. It’s not that hard and it’s extremely fun and rewarding, I assure you. Also, there is a great guide on how to organize your first event on the Code Week website.
- Thirdly, you can help with online stuff, like gathering beginner-friendly programming resources in your country’s native language or just spreading the word about local coding events or about the Code Week initiative as a whole.
From here, your first step should be contacting your local Code Week ambassador. Each country has at least one. Spain has five, for example. They’re the people responsible for encouraging local events to happen and should be in the loop of what’s being planned. So get in touch with them.
You can find this talk and some links at bit.ly/codeweekbaruco. Or you can just Google it.
You know, if opportunity presents itself, I’d probably join an effort to engineer a virus with the purpose of automating the spreading of the passion to code and create. Sadly, no such opportunity has presented itself—yet—so currently I strongly believe that we need to make a constant effort in helping other people see how great and powerful coding skills are.
We need to be the virus.
So let’s get to work. Thank you.
- Main Code Week EU website
- Guide for organizing an event
- Events in your country
- Ambassadors from your country to get in touch with
You can always talk to me as well.