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Empower youth: Coding basics
Empower youth: Coding basics
Sobre
Code Your Ideas: Use Code.org to Empower Youth Through Digital Making
This activity helps youth workers explore how coding can be used as a tool for creative expression, confidence building and future-readiness in youth work. Using free activities on Code.org, youth can turn ideas into interactive stories, games and simulations with no prior coding experience.
Coding is not just a technical skill, it’s a way for young people to build persistence, collaboration and voice in a digital world.
By completing this activity, you will
- Learn to use basic coding tools to support creativity and problem-solving.
- Understand how coding connects to youth development goals.
- Explore ways to guide youth in expressing ideas through code.
Get inspired
Visit https://code.org/learn and try one of the beginner-friendly modules such as “AI for Oceans”, “Minecraft Hour of Code”, or “Dance Party”.
Then read this short guide on how coding supports youth development:
Watch this short video: “The Power of Learning to Code”
YouTube link:
Take action: activities for different roles
Youth workers:
- Choose one activity on Code.org and complete it yourself.
- Reflect: What youth development competencies (e.g. creativity, persistence, logical thinking) did this activity support?
- Invite youth to do a similar activity and share what they made.
Youth organizations:
- Include coding as a monthly creative challenge (e.g. “Code Your Cause”).
- Invite youth to create short projects expressing something important to them — identity, community, a goal, a story.
- Offer space to showcase projects through events or online.
Young people:
- Pick a creative activity from Code.org and personalize it with your own ideas, characters, or story.
- Share what you made and describe what it means to you.
Suggested follow-up activities
- Co-create a “Code for Change” event where youth code simple apps or stories around a topic they care about.
- Pair coding sessions with storytelling or digital art.
- Organize a youth-led tutorial: teach others how to start coding in Code.org.
Claim open badge recognition
Creative Coder
Awarded for exploring and completing a coding activity on Code.org and reflecting on its value for creative expression or social impact.
Skills and experiences gained
- Digital making and creativity
- Persistence and problem solving
- Communication and collaboration
- Technological confidence
- Expressing personal or social ideas through code
Who created this resource?
This activity was developed by CITI (Curaçao Innovation and Technology Institute), a partner in the Digital Systemic project, as part of the Erasmus+ project Systemic Development of Digital Youth Work, in collaboration with the Cities of Learning Network.
Get activity badge
Empower youth: Coding basics Get this badge
This badge is awarded to anyone (youth, youth worker, or organization) who explores coding as a tool for creative expression and youth development using Code.org activities. This badge recognizes your role in discovering how programming supports creativity, problem-solving, and personal expression while reflecting on its potential for empowering young people in digital spaces.
Tarefas
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Task 1
Evidence verified by activity organizer
Complete one beginner activity from Code.org and share your result (screenshot or link). Reflect on what it expresses or how you customized it.
Task 2
Evidence verified by activity organizer
Reflect on what this coding experience revealed about youth needs or strengths. What could you do with code in future youth work?
Habilidades
ESCO
#problem-solving with digital tools
#Critical digital literacy
ESCO
#creative thinking
#Good Level. Sets together with young people educational aims for their own digital content production
#Good Level. Gathers a group of young people to engage in technological activities and agreed about their learning outcomes
#Elementary Level. Uses basic digital tools and devices to run some digital youth work activities with young people, based on own intuition
#Good Level. Understands digital youth work in a broad context of social effects and economic interests of digital transformation; applies solid ethical principles to both digital and traditional youth work.
#Fair Level. Knows how to support young people to collectively, as a group, gather and reflect on online information (non-formal learning is social knowledge production).
#Fair Level. Supports young people to learn social skills through participation in digital communities, such as discussion groups, life-style sites, vlogs or gaming.
#Fair Level. Advises young people on their basic functional skills, such as critically navigating through a variety of websites and platforms.
Organizadores
Digital Youth Work Resource Hub
A Badgecraft roda uma infra-estrutura web para Cidades e Regiões de Aprendizagem. O consórcio Europeu desenvolve esta plataforma com o co-financiamento do programa da União Europeia Erasmus+
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