The Meet and Code Award presents and honors the most successful event ideas. The goal is to inspire others to do the same in the following years, because digital education is so important. We're looking for the best ideas in the following categories.
Gender equality plays an important role in today’s modern and
inclusive society. This award category aims to help close the
gender gap in IT and Coding. We are looking for creative events
that breakdown gender stereotypes and empower girls in coding.
Events in this category could, for example, focus on sparking the
interest and fun in programming, especially among girls, while
including parents to support awareness of gender bias in tech
education.
Commitment to diversity is critical to individual and organisational success, and by embracing different perspectives we are made stronger by our combination of culture, religious and ethnic origin, age, gender, and sexual orientation. In the Diversity category, we seek ideas that inspire children and young people for a world with equal opportunities. We also extend this to mental and physical abilities and different living and working conditions . For example , this could address juvenile prisoners, or focus on IT for people with vision and hearing impairments.
Did you know that you can track bees by means of modern
technology? We are looking for events that combine coding and
actions for the planet. All coding events that improve climate
change education through raising awareness on this topic are of
valuable contribution to SDG 13. Examples of events in this
category could deal with air pollution measurement or tools for
energy efficiency.
A local community is a safety net for its people. Events of this
category take the local aspects and customs into consideration
and think about community specific needs. The events should
creatively unite and foster cohesion among people and
neighborhoods with similar interests and goals through the
passion to “meet and code”! Events in this category could for
example work on a platform for your area.
Did you know that more 700 organisations applied to participate at this year’s 2019 Meet and Code Awards? Meet our four category winners who have gone above-and-beyond in supporting the Meet and Code mission to excite Europe’s youth about digital technologies, and hear what our expert judges had to say:
Organisation: Foerderverein der Grundschule am Koppenplatz
Name of project: Robot Fairytales
Country: Germany
Project description:
Based upon a story in Stanislaw Lem's "Fables for Robots" students aged 7–12 were encouraged to design, build and program characters robots and present them in a video trailer. The combination of theater and robotics provides an easy and fun approach to coding and technology, with emphasis on digital skills for girls.
“The jury found the approach particularly innovative. We loved the mixture of theatre, literature and technology, as well as addressing girls exclusively. The event sparks interest in a fun, creative and unique manner. The jury was also persuaded by the extended course offering, which is now open to boys and girls.”
Alexandra van der Ploeg, Head of Global Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP
Organisation: Adj Esélyt Alapítvány
Name of project: Robotics Offline and Online
Country: Hungary
Project description:
The title of this project was ‘Robotics Offline and Online’. Taking place over two days, the basics of coding for SEN students was presented to students with floor-robots (for offline teaching) and Scottie-Go (for online teaching). The tools support the development of both cognitive and social skills.
“This year’s winner demonstrated excellent social integration with blended learning. They also highlighted inclusive digital learning for all youth by introducing the basics of coding to children with mild autistic and mental disabilities.”
Clemens Frede, Member of the Management Board at Haus des Stiftens gGmbH
Organisation: Fundacja ArchitectsPL
Name of project: Designing and Printing the Coral Reef in 3D
Country: Poland
Project description:
In implementing the "Designing and Printing in 3D Coral Reefs" project, the organisers attempted to rebuild the world's ocean reef using CAD software and 3D printers. On tinkercad.com, young students were able to design artificial reefs that mimic the texture and architectural structure of natural reefs.
“During this innovative and long-term project, youth were provided a fun learning opportunity about climate change, it’s disastrous effects on coral reefs, and how marine scientists are using 3D printers to recreate coral. Best of all, participants were able design and print coral reefs with a 3D printer adding an element of interactive fun and engagement for students.”
Claire Gillissen-Duval, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility EMEA at SAP
Organisation: Cooperativa Sociale Meta Onlus
Name of project: San Rocco 3.0 - Your guide to Discovering the Neighborhood
Country: Italy
Project description:
San Rocco 3.0 aims to build a guide to re-discover the neighborhood using a free Augmented Reality platform called Metaverse, which involves coding and provides an interactive experience. During the event, children were involved with unplugged coding activities, such as drawing and adding content to flow diagrams. Older students were able to use Metaverse for the first time, creating geo-located experiences, testing results in real-time, and fine tuning the work created by the younger coders.
“We loved the step by step approach to finding solutions. The event first started with an initial meeting to identify the biggest community challenges, participants openly discussed issues and finally developed and presented creative technology solutions. In this way, the participants were not only able to work on current real-world challenges, but also to learn the entire method for finding innovative solutions using the power of IT.”
Anna Sienicka, Vice President of Tech Soup
In 2019, Meet and Code was looking for the second time for best practice events that illustrated how tech can improve lives. More than 700 events participated in the Meet and Code Award 2019. The Jury selected 12 exceptional events as finalists.
The finalists of the Meet and Code Award 2019 were:
| award2019.category3.title | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Event | Country | |
|
FUNDACJA ARCHITECTSPL | Projektowanie i drukowanie w 3D rafy koralowej. | Poland |
| Foerderverein Gymnasium Am Roemerkastell e.V. | Mikrocontroller – Kleine Computer mit großer Bedeutung für Mensch und Umwelt | Germany | |
| Qendra per Edukim dhe Mesim Inovativ - STEMLab | AMyZONE | Macedonia | |
| award2019.category4.title | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Event | Country | |
|
|
COOPERATIVA SOCIALE META ONLUS | San Rocco 3.0-La tua guida alla scoperta del quartiere | Italy |
| ATL da Bolonha | PLAY AGAINST CYBERBULLYING WORKSHOP | Portugal | |
| Asociatia Give It Back | Give IT Back to Community | Romania | |
| award2019.category2.title | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Event | Country | |
| GO "Fond rozvytku mozhlyvostey" | Школа нечуючих кодерів | Ukraine | |
| ASOCIAȚIA PĂRINȚILOR "IOAN SLAVICI" SATU MARE | Traffic Lights | Romania | |
|
|
Ősi Gyermekekért Alapítvány | Robotika offline és online | Hungary |
| award2019.category1.title | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Event | Country | |
| Ghromadsjka orghanizacija I Will | Workshop STEM girls with families | Ukraine | |
|
|
Foerderverein der Grundschule am Koppenplatz | Robotermärchen | Germany |
| Tic Tac Lab | Mother and Daughter Coding Workshop with Techies Lab | Belgium | |
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland
Ciarán Cannon is Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for the Diaspora and International Development. He is formerly the Minister for Training & Skills at the Department of Education & Skills. He was first elected to Dáil Eireann in February 2011.
Ciarán is also a strong advocate for the use of technology in education and is a co-founder of Excited - The Digital Learning Movement. He worked closely with teachers and industry leaders in Ireland to make the case for the introduction of computer science as a subject in Irish schools. In 2019 he was appointed one of seven global UNICEF Generation U Champions.
Ciarán was born in Kiltullagh, Athenry and he lives there with his wife Niamh and son Evan. He is an award winning musician and songwriter and some of his work has been performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra. He is also an avid cyclist and advocate for the development of sustainable cities.
Secretary General of Assifero
Carola Carazzone serves as Secretary General of Assifero, the Italian national membership association of grant-making foundations (family, corporate and community foundations) since February 2014. Since January 2019 she is the first Italian woman in serving as board member of DAFNE - Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe, since December 2017 in the Advisory board of Ariadne- the European network of funders for human rights and social change, since May 2016 as member of the experts’ reflection group of ECFI- European Community Foundations Initiative and as member of the Alliance Magazine Editorial Board.
Winner of the Meet and Code Award 2018, Category Innovation, UK
Mark Jenkins leads a 3D printing class focused on building a 3D printer for the 10-24 age group. This class won Meet and Code 2018 in the innovation category. Since then, it has expanded to cover general technology topics and presenting skills. He is a recent graduate of Edinburgh University, finishing with a first class masters in computer science with honours. For his thesis, he performed a two year research project on improving the performance of parallel programs.
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, SAP SE
Alexandra van der Ploeg is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP globally. Alexandra is responsible for setting the strategic direction of CSR focused on bringing to life SAP’s higher purpose of “helping the world run better and improving people’s lives” through strategic partnerships and programs that deliver sustainable social impact and long-term business value. In this function, she also oversees corporate giving, volunteerism and the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships for which Alexandra has a particular passion.
Alexandra joined SAP in 1999. She started with SAP Switzerland in charge of management development and over the course of the next ten years held various managerial positions in Human Resources. Moving into the CSR organization in 2010, Alexandra developed and managed various global CSR programs, such as building an infrastructure for social business in Haiti and the development of a range of pro-bono volunteering program, e.g. the SAP Social Sabbatical Portfolio. Alexandra also serves on the advisory council of IMPACT 2030 and is part of the Leadership Council of the Realized Worth Institute. She holds an MBA from Henley Business School in Great Britain.
Vice President of TechSoup Europe, Warsaw
Anna is responsible for the strategic direction of the TechSoup Europe which is part of the TechSoup Global Network that consists of 61 of capacity-building organizations, and serves 1,100,000 registered NGOs, within over 8 billion euros delivered in technology tools and philanthropic services. Her background includes employability, social enterprises, social and digital inclusion, civic technology, as well as the development of friendly policies and a legal environment for civil society. Anna holds master's degrees in both Law and Economy and Society from Warsaw and Lancaster Universities respectively. She was a member of the Minister of Labour’s Public Benefit Work Council and the Polish Prime Minister’s Social Economy Task Force in Poland (under D. Tusk’s administration).
President Middle & Eastern Europe, SAP SE
Hartmut Thomsen is President of Middle and Eastern Europe (MEE). He is responsible for all sales, operations and development of the business in this region, containing the Market Units Germany, Switzerland, CEE (including Austria) and CIS. He reports to Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Global Customer Operations.
Thomsen is a well-established executive in the market having most recently worked as SAP’s MEE Chief Operating Officer & Head of Cloud and prior to that as Managing Director of SAP Germany from 2012 to 2016. Thomsen joined SAP in 2011 heading up Financial Services and Public Services for SAP Germany. Prior to joining SAP, Hartmut Thomsen held numerous leadership positions at various companies including IBM and Oracle.
Hartmut Thomsen, born in Elmshorn, Germany in 1971, holds a diploma in Economics and Business Administration from the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University in Frankfurt/Main. He is married and has three children.
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