Telenet : builds on “De Digitale Duik”

With the EU Code Week (7 to 22 October), the Brussels Digital Week (19 to 29 October) and the Flemish Digital Week (20 October to 5 November), October is once again dedicated to events surrounding digital and STEM skills. Telenet also joins in by supporting four fine initiatives that build on 'De Digitale Duik'.

In September, 15,000 parents and children took a 'digital dive ' and were immersed in the possibilities of the digital world. 'We are building on this momentum and want to get all children on board the digital train. That is why in October, too, we are the proud partners of some great initiatives. Everyone should get the chance to become acquainted with media and technology in a fun way, but always with an eye for safe and sensible use and media literacy,' says Ann Caluwaerts, Chief Corporate Affairs at Telenet.

We Go STEM

WeGoSTEM is an initiative of SheGoesICT and Dwengo in association with numerous other partners such as Telenet. Volunteers with a heart for STEM visit 90 (opportunity-seeking) schools to teach children how to build and program a drawing robot. Telenet provides logistical support and supplies 50 laptops.

WeGoSTEM wants to reach 5,000 children this year, by doing so they make a contribution to the common goal of the EU Code Week: to reach 1 million young people!

Most social school

For the first time, the non-profit organization ScoolEdu and radio station MNM will go in search of the most social school (#sociaalsteschool): Flemish primary and secondary schools where digital and social responsibility are most embedded in the school culture and the curriculum. Participating schools received an extensive learning module on media literacy and digital etiquette that they can get started with.

Children should acquire digital skills early on, and that begins with a high-performance network. Telenet offers the two winning schools a free audit of their network infrastructure.

Micro:bit

In partnership with the Microsoft Innovation Center, Telenet will invite 5th and 6th form primary school children from Brussels to a programming workshop on 26 and 27 October. The pupils will set to work with Micro:bit (a pocket-sized, codeable computer) and learn to program a watch that they can take home afterwards. We will organize a Dutch-language (26/10) and French-language (27/10) session.

CoderDojo4Divas

Telenet is a structural partner of CoderDojo Belgium. Each year we reach around 20,000 children with the so-called Dojo sessions. On Saturday 28 October, CoderDojo Belgium will again organize a day of digital 'doing, thinking and discovering' fun specifically for divas! During CoderDojo4Divas girls can learn to program, learn about robots, and even build their own app!

It remains our ambition to acquaint as many children as possible with programming. Not that we want to turn every child into a computer programmer; what we want is to teach children the necessary digital skills. We believe that a close partnership between industry, government and social organizations can have a significant impact.

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