Funding for the voluntary work of Coding Pirates

27 August 2018

Coding Pirates is launching a 3-year project to strengthen and foster volunteerism across the country and ensure accession of new volunteers to the association. VILLUM FONDEN has granted DKK 3.9 million for the project.

Coding Pirates has made great progress in its only 4 years of existence and now wish to strengthen the backbone of the association; the volunteers. The grant from VILLUM FONDEN makes it possible to create structures and practices for recruiting more volunteers and further develop the competence of all Coding Pirates’ volunteers around the country.

The aim of the project is, among other things, to expand the group of volunteers to meet the increasing demand for club events. About 2,000 children and youngsters are involved in Coding Pirates, and the ambition is to engage them in voluntary society work through mentoring schemes. This may inspire the young people to become future volunteers in the association. The mentoring schemes will provide a solid competence boost to a group of teenagers who, through Coding Pirates will learn how to teach, lead IT projects and facilitate creative IT projects.

"If we aim to strengthen children and young people's interest and development in technology, we must offer them the opportunity to create something with others in their spare time. This combination of social communities and creative use of technology is what makes Coding Pirates unique. Furthermore, the importance of meeting committed adults who spend their spare time being creative with technology cannot be overestimated. We are pleased to help Coding Pirates get even more skilled volunteers who will inspire more children and youngsters to become volunteers,” says Agi Csonka, Head of Programme, VILLUM FONDEN.

In addition to the mentoring scheme, a large part of the grant from VILLUM FONDEN will support the development of educational and didactic courses to help new as well as the experienced volunteers. This will, among other things, strengthen communities across volunteers and departments.

"Without our cool volunteers, no Coding Pirates. Therefore, it is essential that we strengthen the crew so that we can continue to create creative IT activities at eye level with the children and the young people. We aim to make them see the possibilities of being creators and not just consumers of technology. Special thanks to VILLUM FONDEN for helping us do so," says Louise Overgaard, Chair of Coding Pirates.

The project will run for 3-years, beginning January 2019.

Source: Press Release from Coding Pirates(in Danish)

Further information

Secretariat Director Michael Gylling Nielsen, Coding Pirates, tel. +45 28 59 75 50, e-mail: michael@codingpirates.dk