Children are more and more passionate about programming and the digital world: 540 animations developed in Scratch entered in the Orange SuperCoders National Competition

Orange Romania supports digital inclusion, through educational and community support projects, as well as through the programs developed by the Orange Foundation, so that more and more people have access to a fast internet and all the benefits that the environment offers online. One such initiative is the SuperCoders digital education program, through which children aged 10-14, passionate about technology, are invited to develop their digital skills and competences through play.

The 9th edition of the SuperCoders program, developed by Orange Romania in partnership with the Orange Foundation and Simplon Romania, began in October 2022 and registered an impressive number of participants: 2300 children took part in the actions carried out in the first two stages of the program, the Caravan and the National Competition. Young people participated in Scratch workshops, the visual programming language for children, organized by Simplon Romania trainers, as well as in webinars supported by content creators zzAndrei and Karinul. They applied the learned concepts to create interactive animations, which they entered in the National Competition. With the help of their superpowers – creativity and imagination –, the children continued the story of Coder, the program’s superhero, on a new mission aimed at responsible consumption of resources. 540 animations developed in Scratch were entered in the National Competition.

The first 50 kids who had the most complex animations won a place in the SuperCoders Academy, an extensive learning experience starting today. During 12 weeks of online courses, participants will learn advanced notions of Web Development – HTML and CSS. The full list of winners is available here.

The young programmers were judged again this year by a team of experts from various fields, such as education, journalism or innovation: Roxana Rugină, founder of Simplon Romania, Ovidiu Ana, Executive Director of the Orange Romania Foundation, Măriuca Mihăilescu, journalist at Romanian Television and founder of the www.afostodata.ro platform, Cristian Pațachia, Development & Innovation Manager Orange Romania and Gheorghe Ciprian Ittu, Director and teacher of mathematics and ICT at High School No. 1 Poiana Mărului, Brașov county.

“The presence of digital technologies, such as computers, tablets, smart TVs, smartphones and smart watches, in the daily lives of adults creates the framework for young people to grow up in a digital context, to interact with, access and use technology . Childhood today also means the use of technology and the Internet. Thus, from the very beginning, through the SuperCoders program, we set out to introduce children to programming languages and transform the time they spend online into learning time, shaping digital skills and knowledge. We are honored by the growing number of participants in the activities carried out within the SuperCoders program and congratulate all those who entered this year in the National Competition. 50 of them are starting a new adventure today, the SuperCoders Academy, at the end of which they will have solid programming skills in their personal portfolio. Special thanks go to the jury of the edition, professionals whose footprint in the education of young people is indisputable and whose contribution to the implementation of the SuperCoders program is essential”, said Veronica Dogaru, Corporate Communications & CSR Director Orange Romania.

Digital education is an important direction in Orange Romania’s social responsibility strategy and one of the pillars of the Orange Engage 2025 Group strategy. At Orange’s initiative, together with Simplon Romania, the SuperCoders program promotes digital education and the responsible and useful use of technology among the younger generation since 2014. Starting with the 9th edition, the Orange Foundation joined SuperCoders