YMCAs around the world are working together to address four key areas of impact affecting young people today: Health, Environment, Employment and Civic Engagement.
At YMCA Aruba, they’re working to train young people with skills geared toward today’s labour market. Over the Easter weekend, 23-26 April, they partnered with software development company Gamma IT Solutions to organise the region’s first Y Coding Camp, dedicated to teaching participants aged 12-18 coding skills suitable for the growing tech industry.
The camp ran across four, three-hour morning sessions and encouraged participants to use technology more actively, learning different functions like website and application design. Interest to attend was high and the group ultimately had to be limited to 24 young people in order to ensure each participant had enough dedicated one-to-one time with the instructors.
Reviews from parents and participants were very positive and YMCA Aruba is looking to continue their collaboration with Gamma IT Solutions to deliver another Y Coding Camp in the future.
This camp in just one part of an initiative coordinated by YMCA Latin America and Caribbean to enhance after school programmes in the region with the support of sponsor CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank ComTrust Foundation.
YMCA is committed to delivering educational opportunities to young people as a means of providing the next generation with the skills they need to secure the jobs of the future. World YMCA Secretary General Carlos Madjri Sanvee will share this message when he travels to the Caribbean on 20 June to speak at the Haiti Tech Summit.