Giving the gift of the future with education

Amira had escaped Taliban rule with her family. But in Switzerland, the sixteen-year-old felt like a stranger for a long time. She had attended high school in her home country of Afghanistan, where she often felt useless. That's when the young woman came across the Futurecoders program. Without further ado, she signed up for a course in website development – and was thrilled. She was fascinated by immersing herself in digital worlds, thinking logically and combining them. She quickly gained new skills and new friends. "I'm very grateful to have been given this opportunity," says Amira. "I'm proud of the fact that I programmed my first own website during the course." For her, one thing is certain: she wants to gain a professional foothold in the IT industry.

Amira completed one of the first courses of the Futurecoders initiative in 2021. Since then, more than 200 young people between the ages of 13 and 20 have acquired initial knowledge in programming, web development or video game design in courses and holiday camps and have become enthusiastic about logical thinking. The courses are aimed at young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in Switzerland. They often suffer from a starting disadvantage in their school career, as various studies show. In addition, technology is developing rapidly.

In many places – and also in this country – school teaching cannot keep up with this pace. This, in turn, particularly affects young people who cannot afford to make themselves digitally fit outside the classroom or cannot receive appropriate support from their families. These young people also experience hurdles in choosing a career, as they often find it difficult to access taster days or trial apprenticeships in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), although they are interested. They simply don't have the network they need.