Microsoft Asia Pacific has just kicked off the latest edition of its YouthSpark #WeSpeakCode campaign, with the aim to inspire youth around the region to try coding.
The campaign, which will cumulate in the #WeSpeakCode Week from March 16-22, is driven by the belief that code is a language that everyone can learn and that computational thinking is an important skill which should be taught in all schools in the Asia Pacific.
Microsoft will be hosting a range of activities and events across various countries in the region, with a focus on encouraging individuals to take their first steps into coding and discover just how easy and fun it can be.
Last year’s campaign saw around 20,000 young people across Asia Pacific getting their first taste of learning basic coding skills with Code.org’s Hour of Code.
Many others took up more advanced challenges through hackathons and coding for social good. In total, Microsoft ran over 75 events in 13 countries.
Clair Deevy, Microsoft citizenship lead for Asia Pacific, said in a blog post that many careers outside of the IT industry, like finance, communications, healthcare and entertainment all rely on computers and technology.
“Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of students in Asia Pacific learn the basics of how computers work, much less how to create software, apps or websites,” said Deevy.
She said learning to code important because understanding how the logic behind technology works can help people be a creator, not just a consumer.
“(It is also important) because learning how to program is like learning another language – one that can help you build something that might change the world,” she added.