On 20 and 21 October, 108 elementary school pupils from all over Greece participated in the event “Let’s code, girls ‘n’ boys!!!” at the National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. The event was organised by the Ministry of Administrative Reconstruction, in collaboration with Oracle Academy, REvive Greece and EELLAK, within the framework of the National Coalition for Digital Skills and Employment, and was part of the European Code Week 2018, which took place in all European countries from 6 to 21 October. The event opened with the welcoming speech of the Minister of Administrative Reconstruction, Mrs Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, and Tommasso Dalla Vecchia from the European Schoolnet network, who spoke from Brussels via Skype for the European Week Code.

With this 2-day event, and for the first time ever, schools from different regions of the country gathered to learn and have a hands-on experience with coding. The 108 students represented 18 primary schools from Argyroupoli, Vari, Voula, Vouliagmeni, Heraklion Crete, Elia Hersonissos, Karpenissi, Nafpaktos, Trikala, Neo Psychiko, Tychero Evros and Filothei. The students were split into groups, and through the Oracle Academy’s educational software Alice they were taught specific Java-based programming concepts and created their own stories.

The event “Let’s code, girls ‘n’ boys!!!” was an educational experience which evolved into a collaborative experience, and the young pupils who participated with enthusiasm surprised us with their abilities and their will to continue learning about coding.