CODE Club seeks children for tomorrow’s Moonhack

CODE Club Australia has called on children from across the Geelong region to sign up to tomorrow’s (Friday) Moonhack hackathon, a global event encouraging every child to learn how to code so they are prepared for the future.

More than 17,000 children have now signed up to the event.

“Our mission is to ensure that all children are given the chance to learn to code. Our Moonhack campaign is to get as many kids as possible coding over a 24-hour period and we want as many people from Geelong as possible,” Code Club Australia general manager Louise Baker said.

“We want to ensure that every child across every region in Australia is given an opportunity to shape their world and their future.

“Central to our mission is providing teacher training so that educators are empowered to offer a relevant and inclusive digital education to their students.

“In the future, coding will be as fundamental as reading and writing.

“Many children, particularly those in regional and remote areas, aren’t able to access the skills they need for the future, so it’s critical that we can reach as many young Australians as possible.”

The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2020, more than five million jobs in 15 major developed countries will be lost to automation. Within Australia it has been predicted that 40 per cent of jobs will become automated within the next 10-20 years.

“We cannot afford to wait, we must ensure that every young Australian is afforded the same opportunity to be competitive and have the technological skills to compete in the global market place,” Dr Baker said.

Jackie Coates, head of the Telstra Foundation (Code Club Australia’s founding funder), encouraged parents across Australia to get on board and organise a Moonhack mission control in their homes or local schools.

“The best thing about Code Club is that it breaks down the myth that computer coding is hard and complex – it’s actually fun and through Moonhack something parents can do with their kids.

“As a mum of tweens, I’ve been able to get involved in coding with my kids through Code Club’s unique approach – and we’ve had a blast doing it.”

For more information or to register, head to moonhack.com.