Coding Girls in Mozambique, an international exchange to share stories, discover each other and build bridges with technologyostruire ponti con la tecnologia
When all's well that ends well, even after an hour's time difference, it can be seen in the curious eyes of the students from the province of Manica, in Mozambique, and in the excited smiles of the third year AI and BI students of the Pietro Andriano high school in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, an associate branch of the Alberto Castigliano high school in Asti led by Professor Chiara Novello. It happened last Wednesday, 19th March, during an online meeting dedicated to the international exchange between culture and technology, part of the Coding Girls in Mozambique project.
‘If a voice were an object, what voice would it be?’ An object to tell a story, but also to get to know each other better. This simple but effective question opened a dialogue that touched on interests, hobbies, typical dishes and, of course, artificial intelligence and the uses that students make of it in their daily lives. Acting as a bridge between the two languages and the two realities was Fabricio, a Brazilian student at Andriano, who, together with his classmates, led the presentation and dialogue in Portuguese, ‘shortening the distances and opening up to listening’, as one of the participating students pointed out. An authentic dialogue, enriched by questions, stories and even disassembled computer parts, as a concrete metaphor for knowledge that is built together.
The two classes began by literally getting their hands dirty, or rather, on the circuits: the Andriano students showed and explained the internal components of a computer, illustrating how it works and its basic principles. This activity aroused great interest among the Manica students, intrigued by the world of technology and fascinated by the possibility of understanding its mechanisms. From CPUs to algorithms, to the creativity that can be hidden behind a piece of software: the desire to learn more was such that Isabel, a young Mozambican student, asked to exchange contacts with the Italian students to continue the conversation.
What made the meeting even more significant was the story of a special project: Ask&Hack, an initiative in which some Andriano students took part by developing an application based on the needs of the children with Down syndrome present at the event. A project dedicated to listening, which shows how technology can become a tool for emancipation and inclusion, capable of responding to specific needs and, at the same time, of creating connections between different worlds [see the news item Ask&Hack Ventu-rhythm: code without barriers].
‘Every difference is an opportunity to enrich our understanding of the world’, concluded the students of Andriano, between questions about daily school life, the relationship with teachers and those bonds that, day after day, feed knowledge, passions and confidence in the future.
There is a word that summarises the essence of this meeting and that we like to take from Fabricio's experience: Transformação. A term that speaks of evolution and change not only as natural dynamics, but as the possibility that each of us has to generate positive transformation in the lives of others. The enthusiasm of the students from Manica at the end of the meeting is concrete proof of how sharing experiences and knowledge can really activate transformation processes.
And just today, Tuesday 1st April, the network has been enriched with a new piece: the students from the province of Sofala will meet Rossana Conte, a student of Physics and Astrophysics and the Role Model of the meeting, ready to inspire them and remind them that in life it's always worth aiming for the stars.
by Sofia Barbè Cornalba, project officer
