In Europe Code Week, we at MindHub had the chance to make one week of 2020 more exciting than any other and inspire many young enthusiasts.

From October 10 to October 25, during the programming week, we managed to organize over 25 thematic digital workshops, which were attended free of charge by over 150 children!

What is Europe Code Week?

The EU Code Week initiative is organized entirely by volunteers - one or a few from each country - and aims to disseminate programming in an accessible, fun and intriguing way.

The initiative for all-ages enthusiasts puts programming in focus, presenting it as a creative way to deal with any technological problems, to bring solutions into our lives, and at the same time to be fun!

During the programming week, people from all over Europe gather with a motivation to learn and with the opportunity to interact with experienced teachers and mentors, developing potential.

Innovative events are organized in over 80 countries, which include various interactive activities, and everyone can get close to diverse parts of programming, robotics and technology. The participants can also receive a certificate of participation, validated by the European Commission.

How did MindHub attend Europe Code Week 2020? 

The mission of MindHub is to make every meeting in the world of programming fun and to develop the imagination even of the young ones, encouraging their analytical and creative thinking. That is why we knew that it would be valuable for everyone to present an innovative approach during the thematic programming workshops.

During EU Code Week, children between the ages of 6 and 15 had the opportunity to experience the world of programming completely free of charge by taking part in various and exciting workshops.

The theme of 2020 was Mission: Program a robot, during which children programmed the Dash and Dot robots to perform pre-set commands. With the help of the mentors, the kids completed a super mission to direct and control the robots to hit the target before them. And with each target, the children had fun, enriching their knowledge.

For the group of children between the ages of 8 and 11, we had prepared the challenge of creating a Minecraft block game. Because who doesn't love Minecraft? The aim of the game was for the children to create the character Steve and then build their fortress or castle with the help of blocks. This task brought enthusiasm and inspired all children.

And for the advanced participants, those between 12 and 15 years old, there were digital challenges with the favorite Roblox platform. Using 3D modeling and the Lua programming language, they were able to create a series of obstacles that their character had to overcome, pursuing the goal of finding the treasure. This exciting adventure helped them unleash their imagination, gain new skills and expand their potential.

All the games and challenges that we organized during the digital workshops were welcomed with excitement and inspired all children. They had the opportunity to encourage their creativity and with the help of MindHub’s mentors to become part of the programming world. Тhey had to solve many problems and think of new ideas and approaches, all the while excited by the new and unknown.

MindHub and Europe Code Week in numbers

This year, in the European Programming Week took part in more than 15 MindHub centers: from Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Denmark and the Netherlands. For the period from October 10 to 25, we managed to organize more than 25 digital workshops, which allowed over 150 children to join the exciting adventure utterly free of charge.

At Europe Code Week 2019 more than 4 million participants across Europe took part in a variety of events. This year, however, most of these events were online.

How has COVID-19 affected EU Code Week?

The organizers of this year's edition fully complied with the safety measures against the virus. Many of the training activities were online, and each day the participants could join different sessions remotely.

Of course, safety and security come first for us, so MindHub made sure that everyone follows the requirements strictly.

Upon entering each of the halls, we disinfected the children's hands, and after the lessons, we cleaned all the devices and their workplaces before the next group of curious kids enters.

We made sure that each child worked independently and at the required distance from the other participants in the group.

Fortunately, COVID-19 did not stop the exciting workshops and lessons from being held with full dedication to our team, and this led to many happy faces.