News Blog

Code for Humanity’s (CFH) 2018 summer session helped lay the infrastructure for free and sustainable software education in Nosy Be, Madagascar. Through a partnership between CFH, Jeune Chambre Internationale (Nosy Be), Cyber Kely (Nosy Be) and OpenClassrooms (Paris, France), students have gained free access to laptops, internet and online software training courses. These courses lead to skill certificates that are recognized by employers throughout Europe which, when combined with mentorship arrangements with JCI Nosy Be, aim to help local students gain employment and equip entrepreneurs to grow digitally savvy businesses that compete with foreign corporations in Nosy Be.

In Nosy Be, where access to a computer, not to mention internet and online software courses, is limited, an education in digital skills is hard to come by. However, these skills may be more vital than ever for local residents, as foreign-owned corporations continue to dominate Nosy Be’s growing tourist industry. Locally-owned businesses must be able to compete with corporations in the realm of online advertising and web services. When planning a trip to this remote Indian Ocean island some several-hundred kilometers separated from mainland Africa, tourists rely on web and mobile applications to find lodging and plan their itineraries. To expand local access to digital education, Code for Humanity has been offering courses in digital literacy and software development since 2014.

Thanks in large part to the generous Burners Without Borders microgrant, Code for Humanity expanded its course offerings in 2018 and established the infrastructure necessary to integrate OpenClassrooms’ services into CFH’s offerings. Our 2018 session featured courses in Web and Android development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Digital Marketing and an Introduction to Microcontrollers, taught by a team of engineers from MIT, Harvey Mudd and Pomona College. These courses reached dozens of locally-owned businesses, government agencies and interested students of all ages.

Please read more about our projects at cfhinternational.org. If you’re interesting in working with or supporting us, reach out and say hello at team@cfhinternational.org!