BrazilAccenture and Expo Dubai deliver 2,020 hours of coding to students
In the run up to Expo 2020 Dubai, global consulting firm Accenture and Expo 2020 Dubai have completed their ‘2020 Hours of Code’ initiative – completing 2,020 hours of coding tutorials with UAE-based primary school students.
Held virtually and physically at the Expo 2020 Dubai Visitor Centre ahead of Expo’s opening on October 1, volunteers from Accenture have been delivering weekly coding skills development sessions to UAE primary schools in collaboration with the Expo School Programme, which is dedicated to inspiring the younger generation by engaging with UAE schools and educators.
Empowering UAE-based students with digital, coding and computer science skills, this milestone also marks the largest scaling of Accenture’s global initiative – Hour of Code, an hour-long coding tutorial drive – in the Middle East.
Hour of Code is a global event aimed at empowering every student to learn how to code. It started with one-hour coding tutorials and has expanded to a world of community-based efforts that do not require prior coding experience. Partnering with Code.org, Accenture seeks to help demystify computer science for young people and build skills that could enable them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Globally, Accenture has since 2015 helped inspire more than one million students around the world to learn coding and computer science skills, with almost 160,000 Accenture employees volunteering to teach an hour of code at local events in their communities.
In the Middle East, Accenture tailored the content of its global Hour of Code initiative to meet local demands. “We are proud to have completed our target,” said Gerardo Canta, a senior managing director at Accenture in the Middle East.
Alya Al Ali, Vice President of Expo School Programme at Expo 2020 Dubai, added: “We are thrilled that our collaboration with Accenture has provided a unique opportunity to further empower UAE school students with coding skills. Youth – the leaders of tomorrow – are at the heart of our World Expo and central to our theme and purpose of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
In the coming months, Accenture and Expo 2020 Dubai will continue their relationship which kicked-off in 2017. As the Digital Services Premier Partner and Systems Integrator for the Expo, Accenture is leading several innovative ventures and partnerships to create a personalised and engaging digital experience to 25 million of visitors expected to visit the expo, located close to Al Maktoum International Airport.
The firm’s Expo 2020 Dubai team is led by Gerardo Canta, Angelo Lorusso, Giampiero Terzi and Loren Naish.
