EU Code Week 2024 Launch Event in Latvia

• October 16, 2024
• admin

On October 11, the EU Code Week 2024 Launch Event was held in Latvia which was organized by the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) and Latvia’s leading programming school Datorium EdTech in cooperation with RTU Riga Business School within the Code4Europe project funded by the European Commission. On the conference day, the European and Latvian Code Week 2024 initiative was launched to emphasize the importance of programming in computational thinking, problem-solving, developing cooperation and analytical skills, and encouraging schools and teachers to promote digital literacy worldwide.

The conference was opened by Signe Bāliņa, President of the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association, Edgards Plētiens, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia, Education Quality Management and Digital Transformation, and Claudio Rivera, Head of the RTU Riga Business School Bachelor’s Program.

CodeWeek ambassador in Latvia Egita Petrusa together with LIKTA project expert Andras Krasavina talked about the main idea and values ​​of the Code Week initiative, how to get involved, organize, and popularize various events both within Code Week 2024 from October 14 to 27 and also at any time after that.

In the second part of the conference, the participants had the opportunity to get involved practically in the workshop “Introduction to artificial intelligence. Ideas for classes with students”, led by RBS PreUniversity program manager Linda Sinka, and in the practical training “How to create learning materials in Latvian with a teacher’s artificial intelligence assistant”, led by the founder of EdTech Datorium Elchin Jafarov to provide an opportunity to increase the productivity of teaching work using digital skills and AI solutions.

Community leaders

• CodeWeek ambassadors in Latvia – Anžela Džafarova, Egita Petrusa, and Dita Holla. Ambassadors are the main Code Week contacts in each country and help promote the Code Week vision in the local community.
• The Code Week Lead teachers: Elčins Džafarovs, Ingūna Melne, Elizabete Skricka, and Inga Stiprā. Leading Teachers is an active community of more than 450 educators from all over Europe.

The motivation of teachers to get involved in Code Week initiative includes personal, professional and social aspects. Code Week offers a unique opportunity for teachers to develop their skills, inspire students and promote positive change in education.

Key insights and motivation to get involved in Code Week activities:

• Promoting the digital literacy of educators and learners
• Using the possibilities of artificial intelligence technologies
• Implementation of educational and inspiring activities
• Fostering innovation and creativity
• Ensuring accessibility and inclusion
• Community cohesion, implementation of measures
• Promoting an initiative to promote digital education in your community

At the end of the seminar, industry experts and those involved in education acknowledged that the Code Week initiative is more than just an annual campaign, it is not just about programming skills and has been a bridge between educational institutions and society in general for more than 10 years.

Conference presentations are available HERE.

The recording of the conference is available on LIKTA Facebook page.

Join the Facebook group EU Code Week Latvia!

In 2024, a new category of the Annual Latvian ICT prize “Platinum Mouse” award: “Most active Code Week teacher” was created. Until November 4, teachers of general education institutions, interest-related education teachers, library specialists, and youth affairs specialists who have successfully implemented various programming and digital skills activities for students and young people within the EU Code Week are invited to apply.

Project Code4Europe is supported by European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA), Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) project Nr. 101158834 — Code4Europe.