PUPILS at a Liverpool school have marked International Women’s Day by launching the city’s first podcast run by girls.
Childwall Valley Primary School pupils are part of a project driven by international technology initiative iamtheCODE which will see the youngsters learning how to plan content, record and edit podcasts.
The first episode, which is now available features an interview with iamtheCODE founder Lady Mariéme Jamme and Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson. The podcast was recorded last week when Lady Mariéme visited Liverpool to officially launch a partnership between her foundation and the council, and to also speak at the Liverpool City Region Skills Show.
The wider partnership in Liverpool will see schools and organisations that work with young people given the opportunity to host digital clubs to teach young people how to code.
iamtheCODE is donating 100 coding computers for Liverpool’s code clubs, which will support the initiative’s aim of reaching 100,000 young boys and girls across the world in 2022.
iamtheCODE is a global movement that mobilises governments, the private sector, philanthropic foundations, investors and communities to promote STEAMD (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics and design) education. The organisation’s aim is to make one million girls across the world coders by 2030.
Liverpool’s partnership with iamtheCODE is part of the council’s commitment to bridging the digital divide in the city and making sure that young people have the right skills for the future. The council is also ensuring that vulnerable families are able to get online through its Get Connected post-pandemic recovery pledge.
Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said: “It was great to visit Childwall Valley Primary and to see the girls developing a new set of skills thanks to a trailblazer like Lady Mariéme. I’m looking forward to listening to the podcast today.
“Working with organisations like iamtheCODE means we can really drive the aspirations we have for Liverpool. We need to work on as many fronts as we can to ensure that Liverpool’s economy and labour market function for everyone. To do this we have to ensure that we develop the skills needed for the Liverpool of the future and that we accelerate the city’s digital employment sector.
“This programme will shift the focus on coding to our schools and communities. Preparing children and young people for a modern world of work, but also growing the immense benefits that an education in coding brings to a young person.”
Cllr Tom Logan, cabinet member for Education and Skills, said: “Literacy today has developed from its traditional sense. For the children and young people in our schools now, that also means digital literacy. Coding should be part of that, not only to give them a headstart for employment but to give them a skill that they can take into all areas of their lives.
“This is an exciting project for Liverpool’s schools to engage in and is an opportunity to be part of a global movement that is aiming to close a skills gap that could disadvantage many young people in the near future.”
Lady Mariéme Jamme, founder of iamtheCODE, said: “The goal of iamtheCODE.org is to reach more than 100,000 young boys and girls globally next year, so we will be honoured to participate in the growth of digital skills in Liverpool and include the city on this journey.
“The Liverpool Girls Podcast is not only a way for young people to learn another set of skills but on International Women’s Day it is a way of getting girls’ voices out into the world. We must listen to young girls, they have so much to say.”
