A meeting and an online hackathon were recently hosted at the UN office in order to showcase smart prototypes made by teens as part of the “Information Technologies in Practice” project.
This was the presentation and overview of the outcomes of the two-month “Internet of Things” courses, which was funded by the Russian Federation and conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and the “Internet Society Armenia Sector.
The delegates from the three marzes and the capital city who successfully completed the course joined the conference online in addition to the program implementers and invitees. To demonstrate the knowledge and abilities learned in the course, the start of the hackathon was announced. Finding strategies to control greenhouse operations and developing a blueprint are the tasks at hand. Four groups were formed, and the participants began working on the project. At the meeting, the participants showed the project’s progress and the “Anahit” voice assistant, which speaks Armenian.
The two-month “Internet of Things” courses were attended by 80 teenagers, 12 of whom had special needs, in four regions: Kotayk, Shirak, Lori, Syunik, and Yerevan. The latter’s participation was one of the program’s key objectives. Teenagers learnt to come up with smart solutions for controlling street lighting, maintaining gardens, and sounding the school bell.
“Providing young people and adolescents with digital literacy and new technology skills is one of UNICEF’s objectives. We are pleased to say that we also successfully draw in those with special needs. We must educate the next generation in this approach if we want them to contribute to the advancement of our knowledge and future professions. Alvard Poghosyan, chief of UNICEF’s educational programs, said, “We are really delighted for the partnership with “Internet Society Armenia chapter” since it improved our knowledge in this area and helped us understand what opportunities exist in the modern world and the directions of education we can develop.
“The growth of IT is tied to Armenia’s development. No natural resources exist here. And this initiative provided a chance to educate our kids from adolescence in the rural areas as well, which was a little step in the right way. We appreciate the cooperation. The fact that we are beginning to see the benefits of our training today is fantastic. Igor Mkrtumyan, president of the “Internet society Armenia chapter” said that the kids would present their developments.
Another meeting will be held at the UN office in the coming days to review the work of the hackathon and to inspire the participating teams.
