Our Vision and Support

Imagine a world where all young European citizens have the digital skills to shape their own future.

Meet and Code is driven by this vision and implemented with the belief that it can happen if various groups work together.

We help nonprofits organize grassroots coding events supporting communities of all sizes and making Europe more digital starting at the local level. With our initiative, we strive for global change and work within the framework of EU Code Week and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Meet and Code is the right place for young Europeans to make their first steps as digital creators. They learn not only coding but also problem-solving and collaboration.

Why Digital Skills Are So Important?

9 out of 10 jobs will soon require digital skills, according to “The Digital Skills Gap in Europe” report by the European Commission in 2017. Every day, our increasingly digital world presents new challenges to European businesses and societies. For this reason, it is important that the young are prepared to embrace the digital future.

Digital education has become the foundation upon which young Europeans can build their future in the modern society. And it is crucial to enable them to acquire basic digital skills.

How Does Meet and Code Support Digital Skills Education?

Our mission is to support local nonprofits across Europe to provide access to coding and digital skills for the next generation of young Europeans.

Meet and Code Grants

Meet and Code has already supported more than 2,900 events addressed to children and young adults aged between 8 and 24. In 2020, for the fourth time, Meet and Code will support charitable organizations from 35 European countries and enable free and equal access to coding and digital education across Europe.

In order to receive a grant, the event has to fulfill the basic criteria:

• The submitted event idea seeks to inspire and introduce young people to the world of technology and coding.
• The event has to be realized between September 1 and October 31, 2020.
• The target audience are children and youth between 8 and 24 years.
• The participation for them must be free of charge.

Eligible applicants: only charitable organizations can submit their ideas via their Meet and Code website.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Meet and Code had to adapt its funding strategy. In addition to the basic requirements, the following rules apply for this year:

• All event ideas have to be executed virtually.
• The event has to be designed for a minimum of 90 minutes time. This timeframe can be met in one session or can be divided into several sessions.
• Live events have to be designed for a minimum of 10 attendees.
• The format of the events can be
  • A live event, e.g. a webinar or a virtual coding workshop
  • A “non live event” with mandatory participant interaction, e.g. a massive open online course with live FAQ sessions.

With the change in the format, we also want to provide you with guidelines for what you can use the funding in this year‘s Meet and Code edition. Please note that funding can only be used for event related expenditure, that is:

• Trainer for the workshop
• License for online teaching tools
• Learning materials for participants including curation and shipping, e.g. workings books or hardware
• Communication to reach potential participants, e.g. flyer, poster, online marketing
• Professional external support to enable an online event, e.g. technical support
• Rent for space needed because of e.g. technical infrastructure

All criteria and restriction are described in the Conditions of Participation.

Meet and Code Award

In 2020, we will present the Meet and Code Award for the third time to honor the most successful and most innovative event ideas. By highlighting these best-practice examples, we want to encourage others to come up with even more great projects.

This year, we are looking for the best ideas in five categories: Girls do IT!, Community, Diversity, Code for the Planet and Code for Europe.

Learn more about the Award here.

Meet and Code Inspiration Library

Go ahead and plan your own innovative project! If you need a little inspiration, please visit our Meet and Code Inspiration Library and learn from best-practice examples and other interesting resources available for free.

In the Meet and Code Inspiration Library, you can find useful resources, presentations, tool kits and links in your local language and in English for the different stages of learning - from beginner to advanced.

Go to the Inspiration Library.