Refugee Festival Focus: An Introduction to Coding
Published on 17-Jun-2022
We reached out to our event organisers to find out a bit more about their #RefugeeFestScot events!
Meet Gianluca from CodeYourFuture.
What can people expect from your event? Why should they come along?
Like the title implies: this is perfect if you are completely new to coding and want to find out why it is at the heart of everything innovative in our society right now and going forward. Our volunteers are tech professionals, themselves, and you’ll also hear from some of our inspiring CodeYourFuture graduates. Anyone is welcome, so come along and meet the team!
What does the theme of Storytelling mean to you/ your organisation?
The thing I love most about CodeYourFuture is the stories of our community. We work with people who come from the most challenging of circumstances, including people seeking asylum here in the UK, and help them change the entire course of their lives in as little as a year through launching a career in the tech industry.
On one side of the equation you have people who are more passionate than anyone about learning and developing their skills to be able to contribute to society, and on the other side you have a valuable and quickly-expanding sector in which there is a serious need to train for and fill growing numbers of roles. The result being: incredible stories of professional and personal achievement – helped to be made possible by our incredible volunteers at CodeYourFuture.
What are you most looking forward to/ hoping for during the Festival?
I’m looking forward most to hearing, through the Festival, about all the positive things people from a refugee background contribute to our community. My own personal experience of building working and personal relationships with people seeking refuge has been incredibly fun and enriching – from sharing knowledge and learning around art, education and food to just seeing the world in different ways.
There are a lot of challenges out there to be aware of when it comes to the asylum sector in the UK, but I think it’s important to recognise and share with the public how overwhelmingly positive it is to be able welcome and get to know people who are seeking refuge here in the UK.
An Introduction to Coding will take place on Saturday 18th June, 10am-2pm, at Kinning Park Complex. Find out more and book your free ticket.