Durban — The CodeSolve Camp programme workshop led by Paetyn Naidoo, 17, began in Chatsworth at the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre on Thursday (today).

Schoolteachers were the first to attend the workshop on Thursday (today) before it was rolled out to several schools in Durban and surrounds this weekend.

Clive Pillay from the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre is a co-organiser.

Pillay said the centre offered a year-round programme of educational events in arts, culture, science, technology and sport, and a month-long programme of activities to commemorate and celebrate the spirit of Madiba during Mandela Month.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Paetyn and CodeSolve to host the camp as part of our Mandela Month programme and hope to make this South African-American youth-to-youth initiative an annual event,” Pillay said.

The programme is aimed at providing learners with a framework for problem-solving using computer science and basic coding concepts.

Paetyn said she structured the programme to build creative problem-solving skills harnessing a coding mindset to tackle challenges.

She said that due to the challenges that many women face in STEM-related fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), she hoped to empower young women to embark on their journey of discovery and curiosity through coding and explore the digital areas they were interested in.

“We aim to teach coding skills to students in the hope of creating an awareness of coding as a tool for solving problems in the world around us. We use an approach of peer-to-peer learning and aim to empower all students interested in the digital world – particularly girls,” she said.

Paetyn is the founder of CodeSolve. She is a mathematician, musician, filmmaker and coxswain. She was born in the US and spent her formative schooling years in Johannesburg before moving back to the US where she is currently a rising senior in high school.

Paetyn founded and co-leads her school’s International Student Association. In Grade 10, she wrote her first multi-instrument piano concerto which was the opening performance at her school’s annual spring festival. She previously performed twice as a piano soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra.

She recently wrote, directed and produced the short film, Pitches, which has won multiple international awards and youth film-maker accolades.

Paetyn summed up her motivation for founding CodeSolve and running coding workshops: “In a world full of challenges and opportunities we seek new creative solutions from young people around the world.

“Technology is advancing rapidly and shaping every aspect of our present and future world.

“Our vision is for every young person to be empowered with the computer literacy skills and coding knowledge to find their dreams and contribute to making our world a better place for all,” she said.

Paetyn said she also co-led her school’s International Student Association which she founded to help international students studying in the US find a community.

She said she enjoyed the value of teamwork and loved seeing how different parts or perspectives came together to create a stronger whole.

She was excited and honoured to be partnering with the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre and working with the committed team of volunteers including Pillay, Kumaran Naidoo and Diveshan Maharaj. The centre works with more than 200 primary and secondary schools from Chatsworth and surrounding areas including Welbedacht, Marianhill, Wentworth, Merebank, Lamontville, uMlazi and Queensburgh.

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