Cracking the Code for Armenia’s Future

“If children get in at an early stage, they will see no difference in gender” roles, Papoyan said. “It will help to make sure that there will be no discrimination in any field.”

Armenia is working with the Swedish chapter of CoderDojo, thus it is able to take advantage of the experiences of another country where it has been successfully adopted.

There are several chapters in Sweden, Papoyan said.

In August, she and a group of future CoderDojo mentors will travel to Sweden to study their experiences and to be trained as trainers so that they can return and in turn train more instructors.

The first locale for CoderDojo will be in Yerevan and later expand to the rural regions, as the capital is the easiest place in the country to set up.

If CoderDojo manages to raise all the funds they need, they plan to open centers in rural regions, including Artik, Charentsavan, Masis, Martuni and Vayk, in addition to Yerevan.

The money raised will help the organization set up clubs with equipment, and whatever is needed to be able to run it for at least six months, Papoyan explained. The clubs are going to be free for all.

“I am more interested in getting the regions to start,” Papoyan noted, while she added that the cost for the rural regions is going to be far higher initially, as they would have to start from scratch.

The deadline for the crowdfunding campaign is July 22.

“We are planning and our activities have already started,” she stated. The first CoderDojo chapter, she said, will open in Yerevan at the end of September in conjunction with the beginning of the school year.

The program will be an afterschool activity, “but so much more flexible. There will be an online curriculum that will be open for anyone to participate in. It is a whole curriculum based on mentorship.”

“We are going to actively work with schools to engage more kids,” she said. She noted that the program offered is different from the more established TUMO Center, which offers a broader range of computer education as well as a different age group. Papoyan, who used to work at TUMO, said that unlike TUMO, which is for children 12-17, CoderDojo is for children ages 7-14. She noted as well that TUMO is going to be a partner in the effort.

Papoyan said that in many towns and villages, there is no such program and thus they will be able to make the most difference. Other plans floating include creating a mobile CoderDojo club for the rural regions.

She explained that all of the country now has internet connection and thus connectivity should not pose an issue.

Papoyan, while a proponent of technology at work, is not a tech person by training; she received her degree in art history and alter worked in journalism, communication and public relations.

Being a working woman, however, fostered her interest in gender equality and thus she founded Girls in Tech.

“I have three children and every day I see all the challenges of kids,” she said.

Thus, she also started TaTa, a support group for working mothers who need alternate childcare solutions.

“I am not doing this just as a job; it is something from my personal experience to do it,” she noted.

Incidentally, she said, the group is testing out CoderDojo’s curriculum on the TaTa group.

She was also a project coordinator for European Friends of America and worked as a press and PR coordinator for the Tumo Center for Creative Technologist.

To donate, visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/coderdojo-access-to-coding-for-kids-of-armenia-computers#/ . TO learn more about Girls in Tech, visit https://www.facebook.com/GITArmenia/