On Sunday, October 9th, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah paid a visit to Al Jandaweel Secondary School for Girls, where she learned about Road2Code, a digital skills program developed by the nonprofit organizations INJAZ and the US-based Code.org.
The Queen also took part in an activity organized by the Hour of Code initiative, which is a global ed-tech initiative aimed at familiarizing students with the fundamentals of programming and teaching them coding concepts in simple and enjoyable ways.
Her Majesty received a brief overview of the Road2Code program, which employs innovative methods to improve students' programming skills and equip them with essential digital skills, during a meeting with INJAZ CEO Deema Bibi.
The Queen also attended a training session for teachers on the basics of coding and the use of specialized educational resources to facilitate student access to coding-related learning opportunities led by Code.org Founder and CEO Hadi Partovi, where she spoke with teachers about their experiences with Code.org. Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta, Vice President of International Partnerships at Code.org, and Sawsan Al Qassas, Principal at the school, also attended the session.
Her Majesty then joined a group of eighth-grade students for an Arabic-language lesson on coding principles developed by Code.org in collaboration with Edraak to teach students the fundamentals of computer science, internet safety practices, and game and mobile app building and design.
Her Majesty concluded her visit by meeting with entrepreneurs supported by INJAZ's incubator, mySTARTUP, to learn about the importance of developing digital competencies and coding skills in order to create market-demanding products and services.
Created by Code.org, Hour of Code currently reaches tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries, and Code.org has so far created over 500 one-hour tutorials in over 45 languages.
Established in 2013, Code.org is an education innovation nonprofit based in the United States, dedicated to the vision that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core K-12 education. The organization expands access to computer science in schools, with a focus on increasing participation by young women and students from underrepresented groups. So far, the non-profit has reached 2 million teachers and over 70 million students, the vast majority of whom are from groups historically underrepresented in computer science. In Jordan, Code.org has collaborated with INJAZ and Edraak in Jordan to offer its services to local school students.
Founded in 1999, as a project under international charitable organization Save the Children, INJAZ became an independent Jordanian nonprofit in 2001. It aims to inspire and prepare youth to become productive members of society and accelerate the development of the national economy by contributing to the advancement of education and entrepreneurship. INJAZ currently reaches over 750,000 youth per year with its career-oriented capacity-building programs, and has benefited almost three million youth to date.
Look Details:
She wore her ALEXANDER WANG Cinched Poplin Button-Down Shirt and her repeated Proenza Schouler Casual pants and black pumps as well as her Stone Fine Jewelry Swing Geometric Yellow 18K Gold earrings