December 20, 2019
American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia, Hosts Inaugural Q.Me Cup Coding Competition
EthioCoders, Winner of the Inaugural Q.Me Cup Coding Competition at the American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia on Saturday, November 2, 2019
After a one hour
code-off, Team EthioCoders
emerged winner of the inaugural Q.Me Cup cloud-based
coding competition at the American Corner in Jimma, Ethiopia, last month.
Groups of students
competed in the coding competition to develop a website for the fictitious business,
Jimma Coffee Company, using HTML, CSS and Javascript. The
coding competition concluded an 11-week cloud-based course taught by instructors
in the United States via videoconference lectures and live one-on-one and
small-group tutoring through the Q.Me video queuing
and matching platform.
The Q.Me Cup and Introduction
to HTML, CSS and Javascript course were led by two
U.S.-based non-profits, Q.Me Place and Open Hearts Big Dreams (OHBD), in collaboration with the American Corner in Jimma. Q.Me Place is a non-profit implementer of the Q.Me platform. OHBD
is a pioneer in literacy and K-12 educational advancement in Ethiopia including
as the creator of the Ready Set Go! book series.
"OHBD believes
giving young people critical coding, technology, and leadership skills they can
apply to create value in their communities is critical
for local, national and global economies.
These skills will also help equalize opportunities for talented youth,"
says Ellenore Angelidis,
Founder of OHBD and past long time Amazon Executive.
"Every country
needs to own their IT."
The Q.Me platform was originally built to provide access to
legal services to low-income individuals in Los Angeles, but is now being applied
to multiple service relationships that can be carried out through web-based
video or audio. The platform is being
expanded throughout California, the United States, and now internationally.
"We're excited to
partner with the American Corner in Jimma and Open Hearts Big Dreams," says Vinod Mapranath, Founder of Q.Me Place.
"The internet has
made the world much smaller."
"We can use the
same model to connect tutors and students from anywhere the U.S., Europe,
Asia, Africa match them sequentially, and pair them off into one-on-one
sessions."
In addition to
computer science, a reading tutoring platform that matches younger students and
early readers with native English speakers is in early deployment.
The American Corner
in Jimma is one of seven American Corners currently
active or opening in Ethiopia. It is
also part of a network of more than 700 American Corners globally. American Corners are resource centers,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy, for information and
programs highlighting American culture, history, current events, and
government. Operated as partnerships,
the U.S. Government provides equipment and materials while host-institutions
provide staffing and the free use of space.
Q.Me Cup Participants
Q.Me Place, Inc.
Media: help@qmeplace.org
Source: Q.Me Place, Inc.