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Koding Next Empowering Children through Coding for a Sustainable Future
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The development of the internet and digital technology increasingly determines the face of the future world.
In facing these changes and challenges, learning programming is certainly important to master relevant knowledge. Therefore, it is not surprising that children nowadays are equipped with sufficient information and understanding of programming.
In response to this need, Koding Next Indonesia, the largest coding school in Southeast Asia, through its CSR program, recently held its second National Children's Coding Competition under the title "Code the Ocean".
The competition challenged elementary and middle school students in Indonesia to learn about future technology by creating simple games using coding. Coding can sharpen soft skills such as problem-solving and logical thinking to produce digital works. The competition event was held in a hybrid format in several locations, including Jakarta, Tangerang Selatan, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Denpasar, Samarinda, and online. The event was also supported by the National Achievement Center of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Through the title "Code The Ocean," Koding Next invited children to understand and support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on marine conservation to raise awareness about environmental conditions.
The registration process was conducted online and free of charge. Registration was open from February to May 2023. Nearly 2,000 participants joined from across Indonesia, which were then filtered to advance to the semifinal round, with 100 participants, and then 10 finalists representing each competition location.
Two categories were contested: Visual Block Coding for ages 8-12 and Text-Based Coding for children aged 12-16. Nadila Dinda Pratiwi, Chairperson of the Code The Ocean 2023 Committee, explained that the event aimed to help children discover their interests and talents in coding from an early age.
There are several indicators to evaluate this competition, including the functionality and tidiness of the programming, the delivery of materials related to marine issues, ideas and creativity, as well as mastery of the subject matter and confidence during presentations.
This year, the first-place winners in each category received an educational trip to Singapore, with the second-place winners receiving a gaming laptop, while the third-place winners took home a learning laptop with gaming specifications.
One of the parents of a participant from Sidoarjo, Ratih, revealed the reasons for including her child in the Code the Ocean Koding Next Indonesia event.
"This event serves as a benchmark for children's abilities, and the hope is that they can improve their competence in the field of programming," said Ratih.
This sentiment was also shared by Berman, who as a parent expressed his hope that this event would be held annually.
"Hopefully, this event can be held every year to enhance the experience of participants who are interested in the programming industry," said Berman.
Davin, the winner of the text-based coding category from Malang, SMPN 1 Karangploso, Malang Regency, also welcomed this event.
"I am very happy and proud at the same time, and I hope to be more active and beneficial for Indonesia. In the future, I also hope that competition events like this will become more exciting and lively," said Davin.
