JT sponsors national coding week

Channel Island Ambassadors announced for National Coding Week

Channel Island Ambassadors announced for National Coding Week

National Coding Week is delighted to announce two new ambassadors for this year’s annual event: Edward Jewell, Chief Librarian for the Jersey Library and Lucy Witham, Education Development Officer for Learning Technology in Guernsey.

Last year, Jonathan Channing, founder of local firm Cobra Coding and Head of UK Events for National Coding Week, took on the role as ambassador for both Jersey and Guernsey. But with the growth and popularity of the digital education event, it was decided to appoint an ambassador in each Island who will be raising awareness of the importance of coding and responsible for the promotion of the Week’s worth of digital events.

Founded in the Channel Islands in 2014, participation at the JT sponsored National Coding Week has steadily grown and to date over 8,000 people have attended sessions held in the Channel Islands, UK, USA, Australia and beyond. The Week will feature a series of events run with different focuses including; technological advances in the digital sector, career development, an introduction to coding and educational courses aimed at various ages.

The Jersey Library was chosen as the Jersey ambassador this year in recognition of its innovative approach to digital education, wishing to be at the forefront technological advances and regarded as a hub of learning.

Edward Jewell, Chief Librarian, said: “Libraries have always sought to support learning, for us the message has always been more important than the medium. The goal is to advance knowledge, inspire lifelong learning and enrich culture. We want to use National Coding Week as an opportunity to show that the Barclays Eagle Lab digital innovations are all part of a library’s learning ethos. Whether it’s programming an animatronic dinosaur or coding a Raspberry Pi to predict tide-times, we want to connect with people who have the skills and ideas that will engage new audiences with coding and digital skills.”

Lucy Witham was chosen as the Guernsey National Coding Week Ambassador as she was pivotal in organising last year’s diary of events.

Lucy Witham, Education Development Officer for Learning Technology, said: “National Coding Week is an excellent opportunity to channel Guernsey efforts towards growing the digital skills in the Island. This year our main focus is to empower parents and grandparents to support their children’s digital development, in particular, coding. I am also hoping to create a Women in Tech group to empower women looking to get into the digital sector.”

The Digital Greenhouse will be hosting a series of Parent and Grandparent Coding ‘crash course’ sessions, sponsored by Barclays, throughout National Coding Week.

Tamara O’Brien, JT’s Head of Marketing, Brand and Distribution, said: “It is great to see National Coding Week go from strength to strength in the Channel Islands and the role of these Ambassadors is key in helping ensure islanders and businesses alike can get the most out of everything the week has to offer. We look forward to working with the Jersey Library and Lucy in Guernsey to support and champion the events. JT is keen to endorse the development of digital skills wherever it can and National Coding Week is an excellent opportunity for people of all ages to enhance their coding ability. We cannot wait to see the full line up of events for this year.”

Jonathan Channing said: “Digital is the age we live in and if we don’t teach people the foundations then we leave ourselves open to the threat of cyber attack and artificial intelligence challenging our jobs. I am so glad to have the Jersey Library and Lucy on board to support us in progressing National Coding Week.”

Find out more about the week’s events by CLICKING HERE

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