Jordanian girls learn to code in US summer programme

AMMAN — Four Jordanian girls with a passion for technology, science, and engineering headed to the US over the summer to develop their skills alongside teenagers from across the region.   

“TechGirls”, a programme funded by the US Department of State in cooperation with the American organisation Legacy International, aims to promote cultural exchange and technology between the US and countries in the Middle East and North Africa. 

Participants receive over 45 hours of hands-on training, including courses on Java and C++ programming, and after the training, they conduct peer training or undertake a project in cooperation with their schools or community.  

For Layan Okkeh, the three-week experience was an opportunity to mix with people from different countries and to break down stereotypes.

Participants spent time with host families and on campuses specialised in technology. 

“They had so many stereotypes about Jordan… and the government. We had wrong ideas about their part of the world as well,” Okkeh said.

During their stay at the American University and Virginia Tech University, the Jordanian group received training about how to use technology with science and engineering to solve their community’s problems. 

“I think a lot can be done through technology; you see things from different angles. It made me want to do things not only for the project, but for my country, to make it a better place,” Okkeh told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

The programme, which teaches computer skills and coding, “changes a girl’s life completely”, she said. 

“During the one week of coding courses, I met young girls and boys aged between 7 and 17 years; they were all doing the same thing I was doing. It showed me how important it is for the younger generation to get this experience,” she added.

The 17-year-old, who returned to Jordan last week, plans to design a mobile app to connect refugee camps with people willing to donate and help, in addition to another app that encourages girls in camps to study engineering and maths.

“I was quite a shy person. I had stage fright. This programme made me more confident, aware and assertive. It solved 90 per cent of my problems, changed my personality and assured me that my dreams can become reality. I just have to work on them,” the teenager said.

Jordanians Ashraqat Dawood, Lina Tarawneh and Amal Taha also took part in the programme.

Participants are asked to work on a follow-up project after the summer programme concludes, Okkeh said, adding that the implementation of the ideas starts with more than 1,000 other participants in the alumni club of TechGirls. 

The programme was open to girls between the ages of 15 and 17, from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia or Yemen, according to the Legacy International website.