iamtheCODE has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to empower 1 million women and girls learn to code by 2030. iamtheCODE is the first African-led global movement to mobilise multi-stakeholders for the advancement of STEAMD (science, technology, engineering, mathematics arts and design) education for women and girls only. It was founded by Senegalese born, British Techprenuer Marieme Jamme. Alibaba Cloud is the subsidiary of the Alibaba Group that majors in cloud-computing.
The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. The partnership will add a new twist to iamCode’s curriculum of technologies that gives access to marginalized young women in the world. Alibaba Cloud logo will be added on the digital wheel of iamtheCODE curriculum and will also award certificates to young women who pass the 12 week course of iamtheCODE Digital clubs.
Alibaba Cloud will provide tailored courses on a range of topics that include cloud computing, data analysis, machine learning and security.
iamtheCODE is present in 64 countries including China, which was where it hosted its first UN Sustainable Development Goals Hackathon in 2017. 13,000 girls in less than 2 years have had access to the iamtheCODE blended curriculum so far.
The platform supports young marginalized women with their career path aimed at solid digital skills and other practical STEAMD subjects. It will achieve this by teaching them to code, inviting them to decode the UN Sustainable Development Goals, will also track what the young women and girls are learning though data and provide good nutrition education.
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Jamme said “We are delighted to partner with Alibaba to engage more young women and girls from the most disadvantaged background in the world and use its technology to change their lives. Our blended curriculum will become even more accessible as we add Alibaba Cloud to it. For iamtheCODE, priorities are to use technology to improve the lives of young women entrepreneur through tech, to create employability and to equip them with the digital skills of the future. We are truly honoured and excited for the young women as they will have access to the new technological advancements of Alibaba Cloud. This moment is truly historic. Working with Alibaba Cloud will make a great difference in the lives of millions of young women globally.”
iamtheCODE seeks governments, businesses and philanthropic foundations to support girls to actively participate in the digital revolution so that they find their own space in the ecosystem. It nominated Christopher Schlaeffer as its Patron. Christopher is the face behind the Android Operating System, he is a European technology executive, pioneer and a serial founder.
Dr Wanli Min, Chief Machine Intelligence Scientist, Alibaba Cloud said “Through the Tech for Change initiative, we want to bring together creativity and innovation to tackle critical problems and challenges faced by humanity such as equality in education, healthcare for the underprivileged, sustainable agriculture and wildlife protection. We are delighted to partner with iamtheCODE to train 1 million women and girls by 2030 and have them as part of the Tech for Change initiative.”
The Alibaba “Tech for Change Initiative” seeks inspiring ideas such as iamtheCODE to tackle global social and humanitarian challenges in areas such as education, economic development and the environment through technologies.
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