Refugee Code Week concludes digital literacy, coding skills training

AMMAN — The Refugee Code Week on Sunday held the closing ceremony of its 2017 edition, celebrating the training of over 15,000 youth and Syrian refugees in digital literacy and coding skills. 

This year’s edition took place from October 15-22, with over 100 free coding workshops organised in camps, community centres and universities across Egypt, France, Greece, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Sweden and Turkey.

The initiative, held under the patronage of Queen Rania, was organised in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Galway Education Centre, ReBootKamp (RBK) and SAP. 

Representatives of all partners were present at the ceremony, along with ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh. 

The programme was described as “life-changing” by one of the Syrian refugees present at the ceremony, who signed for a coding job with a startup after the training. 

“I had no coding background before this, and now I can secure a job,” he said, expressing that “the training has been a great journey, where I would wake up every day with the goal of improving my skills.” 

Another trainee told the audience that “the initiative has been a big opportunity for youth, providing us not only with coding knowledge, but also in communication and teamwork skills.”

Gerji Aboud, CEO of SAP in the Gulf, North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, stressed that “raising and educating children requires collaboration among the entire community,” expressing that, during his visit to the refugee camps, he saw “the efforts exerted by the communities to achieve their dreams”. 

“The Refugee Code Week will enable refugee camps to become centres of education and innovation by combining the efforts of the private, public and academic sectors, and the creation of a digital workforce that will have a positive impact on the economy,” he continued. 

Representative of UNHCR Stefano Sepher noted that “rebuilding communities is not limited to building physical infrastructures. It is equally important to reassure the future of young people and provide them with the peace of mind to overcome their situation.”

“This initiative can enable youth and refugees to regain their dignity and help them lead a meaningful life, as well as provide them with the tools that will help them rebuild their country and strengthen its stability,” he added. 

For his part, founder and CEO of RBK Hugh Bosley said that “the refugees have the experience, creativity and determination to join the digital workforce, but their ambitions have often been hit by unfavourable conditions.” 

“Coding is the digital language of the future, and we are committed to working with our partners in Refugee Code Week in order to enable refugees and youth to become outstanding software engineers,” he concluded.