Chema Alonso
Chief Data Officer, Telefonica.
Europe Code Week is taking place place for the second time between Saturday, October 11th and Friday, October 17th, 2014 and aims to celebrate coding, the art and science of talking to computers as well as digital skills development. Telefónica alongside the European Commission is part of this movement with activities for young people in Spain, Germany and The UK.
These include coding workshops; digital business planning days; competitions; Think Big school sessions and in-store O2 Guru bytes workshops which all stem from the many on-going programmes supporting digital skills and the empowerment of young people Telefónica backs at the European level.
EU Code Week is another initiative in which Telefónica is involved to further raise awareness around digital skills and contribute to European wide movement. It is also part of the European Digital Forum leading a work stream on digital skills in partnership with Mozilla Foundation. For Activities organized by Telefónica during EU Code Week please click here.
Europe Code Week coincides with the publication today of the second edition of Telefónica’s Global Millennial Survey, which quizzed 6,700 18 to 30-year olds across 18 countries on their feelings about the world in which they live, how technology impacts their lives and their personal goals and dreams.
Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, in charge of the Digital Agenda for Europe said: “The most important thing for all companies today is to “Think Big” when it comes to digital change. I am glad to see Telefonica and others in the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs and Skills doing that. Learning to code and upgrading digital skills is critical – not for just for Europe and companies, but for you as an individual. Digital skills are the key to having career options.”
Wayra and Talentum are the other two pillars on which the company’s digital transformation is based. All have the objective of promoting entrepreneurialism, self-reliance and empowerment. A deeper understanding of technology is becoming the new literacy and a much needed competitive advantage of a digital Europe.
35,000 millennials work for Telefónica worldwide and many more benefit from Telefónica’s youth development programmes, recruitment initiatives and digital incubators. It is the company belief that securing a more prosperous Europe can only be achieved if opportunity is open to all and the necessary skills are given to utilise the possibilities of digital.
The idea behind Europe Code Week is to connect local organizations and volunteers and to showcase existing initiatives and good practices across Europe, inspiring European citizens of all ages to start learning the languages of computers. Code Week was started by Vice President Neelie Kroes’ Young Advisors, who, together with other local ambassadors, want to see more of their peers actively creating, not just consuming digital content.
