Nigeria’s communication ministry, in partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a computing education charity based in the United Kingdom, will establish Code Clubs to introduce young participants to coding and digital technology.
Together with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a computing education charity based in the United Kingdom, the federal government of Nigeria, via the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has established Code Clubs throughout the country.
The initiative is specifically designed for students between the ages of 7 and 17, and the Code societies are a collection of extracurricular programming societies focused on artificial intelligence (AI) to cultivate young minds in Nigeria who are both technologically literate and inventive.
The ministry stated in a statement released on November 8 that the Code Clubs will acquaint members with digital technology and coding while motivating them to implement innovative approaches to problem-solving in their daily routines.
After their inception in seventeen knowledge exchange centers, these organizations shall proliferate to additional sites throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy for Nigeria, underscored the criticality of cultivating a knowledge pipeline within the country through collaborative free coding societies supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The initiative’s objective is to expedite the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy through improving technical expertise and cultivating talent.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation will provide educators and youth participants with comprehensive toolkits, support, and guidance as part of the collaboration. Concurrently, the ministry shall supervise the establishment and operation of Code Clubs across the nation via a framework of partnerships.
The partners, which consist of enthusiastic organizations, educational institutions, and individuals committed to advancing computing education, will receive operational guidance, support, and resources from a designated central organization.
In addition to web development, programming languages, robotics and electronics, game development, algorithms, and problem-solving, an introduction to coding, fundamental concepts, and programming languages, the educational pathways provided to Code Club partners will cover various technology-related subjects, according to the ministry.
The program, which the Nigerian government introduced in October, awarded grants of 5 million naira ($6,444) to 45 AI-focused researchers and entrepreneurs.
This endeavor is an element of the recently established Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Research Scheme, which seeks to encourage the widespread implementation of AI to advance the economy.
