The global lender World Bank in association with Microsoft yesterday announced two teams – one from Bangladesh and another from Nepal – as the champion of a youth competition titled “Coding your opportunity”.
Better Stories Limited from Bangladesh and Robotics Association from Nepal were announced champions who had been awarded with $10,000 for implementing their innovative ideas that will expand coding knowledge among the youth helping them secure and create gainful employment.
The champions received the certificates at a programme in the capital.
In general, coding refers to scriptwriting of programmes in computer through binary digits. It refers to an executable file or executable programme which instructs the computer to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions.
The annual regional grant competition was rolled out in four South Asian Countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The rest of the participating organisations were awarded with certificates. The final competition between Maldives and Sri Lanka will be held soon in Sri Lanka.
“South Asia is home to world’s largest working age youth population. Learning about coding and computing has become an essential job-skill in today’s world,” said Christine Kimes, acting Country Head of World Bank Bangladesh.
“The competition received many good proposals and we are hopeful that the winning projects would create awareness about coding and help the condition of the participating countries for gainful employment,” she added.
She also hoped that initiative like this can help create more and better young people able to meet the demands of the today’s world.
Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility lead for Asia Pacific Clair Deevy said her organisation, through its global YouthSpark programme, is committed to helping young people around the world to achieve their employment, education or entrepreneurship dreams.
Microsoft’s Country Manager for Bangladesh Sonia Bashir Kabir said: “Bangladesh is a country with population of 160 million of which 50% are under the age of 25. I think investing, promoting and encouraging you (the youths) to do whatever is right is needed not only for yourselves, but also for the country and the rest of the world.”
She also suggested the youths to make coding on health and education, which has very much demand across the globe.
Chief Executive Officer of bdjobs.com AKM Fahim Mashrur and University Grants Commission member Mohibur Rahman also spoke at the programme.
The regional grant competition has invited youth-led initiatives and organisations to showcase fresh, innovative ideas that bridge the existing coding gap in South Asia between those who have access to the gaining skills they need to be successful and those who do not.
Coding is an essential and desirable job skill in computing works. Jointly implemented by the World Bank and Microsoft, the competition was organised aiming to enable youth to expand coding knowledge amongst their peers, in turn helping them secure gainful employment.
