It's about bringing ideas to life
It's about Pia, who felt like she had to study law, even though she always enjoyed math and playing with computers. It's about Mark, who has an idea for a better social network but doesn't know how to build it on his own. It's about Alice, who dreams about making robots because her parents don't allow her to have a cat. And about those of you who are already helping these dreams come true.
Actually, it's about all of us and how we shape our lives and our future. We can do better than just sharing and liking posts. We can bring our ideas to life, build things that will bring joy to others.
It's never been easier to develop an app, build your own robot, or who knows - even invent the flying car! It's not a comfortable journey, but it's a journey full of creative challenges, tons of fun and a supportive community behind you. Are you ready to accept the challenge and become a digital creator?
It's also about developing key competencies
Programming languages are like any other language. Only in this case, kids don't learn to express themselves and communicate with other people. Instead, they get to understand how to communicate with technology. Technology that is all around us - in our smartphones, computers, vehicles, everywhere!
But understanding and communicating with computers is only a part of it. Coding also helps develop multi-disciplinary competencies such as computational thinking, problem-solving, creativity and teamwork - excellent skills for all walks of life. The ability to solve problems, to cope with failure and try again, or to collaborate with others, are traits looked-for in many fields.
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Lastly, it's about shaping our future
A century ago, programming languages didn’t even exist. Today, code is all around us and pretty much everything can be programmed –even shoes or cereal boxes! So why let others shape our future when we can become the makers and we can realise our visions and ideas? After all, the only limit is our imagination.
Alessandro Bogliolo, the coordinator of the EU Code Week team of volunteer ambassadors , said:
From the beginning of time, we did many things using stone, iron, paper and pencil that have transformed our lives. Now we live in a different era where our world is moulded in code. Different eras have different jobs, and skills demand. During Code Week, we want to give every European the opportunity to discover coding and have fun with it. Let's learn coding to shape our future
Ultimately, programming is a sought-after skill in almost any industry - not only in technology, but also in finance, healthcare, science, even design or agriculture, and the demand only grows bigger. Children who know how to code, who understand how technology works, they have a certain advantage, regardless of which career path they eventually choose.