Following Tangible Africa’s successful #Coding4Mandela event hosted last year, this year more young people are being encouraged to code simultaneously across the globe.
The organisers of the annual coding event plan to reach 30 000 learners across two continents, in celebration of 30 years of democracy.
Professor Jean Greyling, the Tangible Africa Founder, Head of Department, and Associate Professor at Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department, said that while the event started as a local tournament in Gqeberha in 2018, it had grown exponentially to a national event since 2022.
Last year 16 000 learners from across the country, and other parts of Africa, participated.
Around 30 000 learners across 70 sites in Africa and South-East Asia will participate in the 2024 #Coding4Mandela event, themed “Igniting Potential, Impacting Tomorrow”.
Participating African countries include Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, with learners from Indonesia also participating in the event for the first time.
“An additional feature is involving teams from the Northern Hemisphere. They will compete under the slogan #Coding4Mandela after their summer holidays, culminating in a virtual Coding World Cup on December 5, which is the annual anniversary of Mandela’s passing,” said Greyling.
In 2023, 55 teams from 22 countries registered for the Coding World Cup.
This year participating sites and schools can also do various interactive activities on Mandela Day aimed at introducing learners to coding. One of these is a vibrant song and dance, which schools are challenged to perform and record.
The #Coding4Mandela event is the brainchild of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation, made possible through their engagement project, Tangible Africa.
The anchor sponsors for the #Coding4Mandela event are AWSinCommunities and Dutoit, and other corporate sponsors include S4 Integration, Fibertime, BBD and SAS.
“Being from Nelson Mandela University, and with Nelson Mandela’s lifelong focus on education, it was an obvious choice to host a tournament on Mandela Day. It also allows our corporate sponsors to make a great impact towards education in our country,” added Greyling.
Significant sites where this year’s coding event will be hosted include Robben Island, the offices of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Bizana Garden of Remembrance, the Captivity Site outside Howick where former president Mandela was arrested, the Albert Luthuli Museum in Durban, and the Boardwalk Shopping Mall in Gqeberha.
According to Tangible Africa’s Engagement Manager, Jackson Tshabalala, the hosts from various sites across South Africa and Africa are bubbling with excitement.
“They eagerly gear up for the tournament. Their remarkable ownership and dedication to ensuring the success of the event is truly inspiring, showcasing their unwavering commitment to empowering learners through coding.
“Each site decides on their own prizes, varying from medals, cash prizes, coding kits, and mobile phones,” he said.
Overall winners will be determined through a virtual round involving the winning teams from all participating #Coding4Mandela sites. Winning categories will include primary and high school learners.
“After our Mandela Day coding tournament, we will follow up with teachers from competing schools to introduce them to our online unplugged coding courses,” said Leva Foundation CEO, Ryan le Roux.
Very few online resources are needed to play the coding games, by making use of Tangible Africa’s flagship coding applications, RANGERS, BOATS and TANKS.
To find out more about coding in your region, or to participate in the #Coding4Mandela event, contact info@levafoundation.org.
