BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

The Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with iamtheCODE to provide free coding and digital skills courses to Filipino young women and girls and strengthen its Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Design (STEAMED) initiative.  

The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Education Secretary Sonny Angara, following a courtesy visit and presentation by iamtheCODE founder Lady Mariéme Jamme on Thursday.

The said signing was witnessed by several notable figures, including First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Karen Davila, Her Legacy Foundation Co-Founder Darlene Ty-Nilo , and Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier, alongside members of the DepEd executive committee.

iamtheCODE is the first African-led global movement that aims to empower a million young women and girls to become coders and creative problem-solvers by 2030.  

“We are helping people around the world. Not just it’s African-led, but I think that our knowledge and our expertise can also serve the Filipino community here,” Lady Mariéme highlighted.

Through the partnership, iamtheCODE will provide access to DepEd schools to its 12-week blended curriculum (comprised of STEAMED workshops, apprenticeship programmes, and a repository of open-source online courses). Likewise, the iamtheCODE platform is set to offer over 60,000 free courses to young Filipino women and girls. The courses cover technical and soft skills lessons, with a focus on STEAMED.

As part of the implementation strategy, a skills benchmarking exercise will be conducted by iamtheCODE, in collaboration with DepEd, to identify the specific needs of Filipino students. This will ensure that the program is effectively tailored to suit the local context.

DepEd will also disseminate information about the availability of the courses, while iamtheCODE will assist with the pilot implementation in selected schools. The program is planned to be piloted from Grade 7 to Junior High School in voluntary schools across various regions.

Secretary Sonny Angara thanked Lady Mariéme for iamtheCODE’s dedication to empowering Filipino learners through the platform.

“The presence of Lady M here only underscores our shared interest to sign up even more Filipino young women and girls to iamtheCODE’s programs, and give more of them a fighting chance at a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” Secretary Angara said.

The initiative, which also aims to enhance knowledge in STEM, artificial intelligence (AI), and coding skills among high school students, has been a priority for Secretary Angara since his first week in office. The groundwork for this expansive initiative was diligently managed behind the scenes by Tootsy Angara, Secretary Angara’s wife.

*All Photos from DepEd