South Africa
Its a Wednesday 2pm class in the densely populated township of Ivory Park, on the outskirts of the South African city of Midrand, it’s time for some eleven-year-olds to compete in their local computer coding club.
Armed with basic coding blocks, kits for inventors, laptops and boundless imagination, six teams of elementary students compete.
Children use electronic boards to make circuits and prototypes, striving to design technological solutions to solve problems they have identified in their community.
Coding is the set of instructions that a robot or computer program reads and then executes. In coding clubs, students learn to design these codes.
In South Africa, most coding clubs are hosted free of charge by NGOs such as ORT-SA, CodeJika and We Think Code.
However, in September, the Ministry of Education announced that it would support clubs, which are also popular in other African countries such as Kenya and Botswana.
AFP
Go to video
South Africa's tax row heads to court as implementation date nears
Go to video
South Africa appoints Mcebisi Jonas as special US envoy in bid to ease tensions
Go to video
South Africa: inquest into death of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Albert Luthuli re-opened
Go to video
10.3 Million tons of food wasted in South Africa as chefs push for sustainability
Go to video
South Africans protest gender violence after child rape allegation
Go to video
Rare blue diamond goes on display in Abu Dhabi ahead of May auction