Queen Rania looks at ‘Road2Code’ programme as part of ‘Hour of Code’ global activities

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania visited Al Jandaweel Secondary School for Girls on Sunday, where she learned about Road2Code, a digital skills programme developed by nonprofit organisations INJAZ and the US-based Code.org.

The Queen also took part in an activity held under the Hour of Code initiative, which is a global ed-tech initiative that aims to acquaint students with the basics of programming and teach them coding concepts through simple and enjoyable methods, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s office. 

Created by Code.org, Hour of Code currently reaches tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries, and Code.org has so far created over 500 one-hour tutorials in over 45 languages.

In a meeting with INJAZ CEO, Deema Bibi, Her Majesty received a brief overview on the Road2Code programme, which employs innovative ways to enhance students’ programming skills and equip them with essential digital skills.  

The Queen also dropped by a training session for teachers conducted by Code.org Founder and CEO, Hadi Partovi, on the basics of coding and the use of specialised educational resources to facilitate student access to coding-related learning opportunities, where she talked to teachers about their experience with Code.org. The session was also attended by Code.org’s Vice President of International Partnerships, Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta, and the school’s principal, Sawsan Al Qassas. 

Her Majesty then joined a group of 8th grade students for a lesson on coding principles conducted in the Arabic language and created by Code.org in collaboration with Edraak to teach students the basics of computer science, Internet safe use practices, and game and mobile app building and design. 

Her Majesty concluded the visit by meeting with entrepreneurs supported by INJAZ’s incubator, mySTARTUP, to hear about the importance of building digital competencies and coding skills to create products and services that meet market demand, the statement said.

Established in 2013, Code.org is an education innovation nonprofit based in the United States, dedicated to the vision that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education. The organisation expands access to computer science in schools, with a focus on increasing participation by young women and students from underrepresented groups. So far, the nonprofit has reached 2 million teachers and over 70 million students, the vast majority of whom are from groups historically underrepresented in computer science. In Jordan, Code.org has collaborated with INJAZ and Edraak in Jordan to offer its services to local school students, according to the statement. 

Founded in 1999, as a project under international charitable organisation Save the Children, INJAZ became an independent Jordanian nonprofit in 2001. It aims to inspire and prepare youth to become productive members of society and accelerate the development of the national economy by contributing to the advancement of education and entrepreneurship. INJAZ currently reaches over 750,000 youth per year with its career-oriented capacity-building programmes, and has benefitted almost three million youth to date.