Chile announces plan to bring computer science to every student

In 2015, the Hour of Code first came to Chile — thanks to the work of Fundación Kodea, Code.org’s main partner organization in the country. Just two years later, Chile was one of the top ten, non-U.S. countries with the most Hour of Code events in 2017.

Chile’s momentum to bring computer science to all students in the country hasn’t slowed down. In partnership with Fundación Kodea’s continued efforts, the Chilean national government just launched an initiative that will bring computer science to all students and help build skills to thrive in our 21st century world.

On July 3rd, 2018, the Ministry of Education inaugurated their new Center for Innovation. Sebastián Piñera Echeñique, President of the Republic of Chile, celebrated the launch with an Hour of Code alongside primary students.

The Center’s first initiative, the Plan for Digital Languages, aims to design and implement policy changes to integrate computer science and programming into the national curriculum. Fundación Kodea will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Fundación Telefónica on the first phase of this initiative to prepare 100 teachers from the Estación Central, La Pintana, Lampa, and Huechuraba communities to use Code.org and Scratch as instructional tools in the classroom.

Computer science education has never been a more critical subject to learn in our increasingly technological world. All students deserve access to the tools and education they need to become our future leaders and solve tomorrow’s problems. And as the Plan for Digital Languages initiative grows, thousands of schools across Chile will be able to offer computer science to all of their students. Code.org is proud to partner with Fundación Kodea and the Chile Ministry of Education as we work together in a shared mission to bring computer science to all students in every school.

Suky Kang — Director of International Partnerships, Code.org