Accenture Teaches UAE and KSA Students to Code with ‘Hour of Code’ Initiative

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) teamed up with Expo 2020 Dubai and two schools in UAE and KSA to lead coding tutorial sessions between December 3-9, 2018. Taking place in Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Accenture’s Hour of Code activities were part of the company’s commitment to helping students around the world build computer and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

Nearly 20 Accenture employees in the region, and almost 2500 employees worldwide, committed to teaching one hour of code in hopes of inspiring students to learn critical computer science skills. Students at Al Tarbiyah School in KSA and the Dubai International Academy in the UAE benefited from this vital initiative that helped them be better prepared for the careers of the future. Along with Etisalat Digital, Accenture is the Digital Services Premier Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai, and as part of that partnership, the company has hosted a coding skills development session for 30 young learners visiting the Expo 2020 Visitor Centre.

This initiative directly supports the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative launched in 2017 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, aimed at teaching and training one million young Arabs in the Middle East to prepare to meet the needs of the digital economy. In KSA, through the National Digitization Unit and National Transformation Program 2020, the government has made computer programming a primary focus for the nation.

“There are so many fields that are already investing heavily in STEM skills. It is our responsibility to teach and equip emerging generations with the right opportunities to expand their knowledge so that they can, in turn, take on innovation to improve our daily lives in different areas. The region is ripe with talent and we hope that through initiatives such as this, we can have a lasting impact on their future success,” said Xavier Anglada, managing director and Accenture Digital lead in the Middle East and Turkey.

Alya Al Ali, Director of the Expo School Programme, welcomed the initiative. “World Expos are great platforms to inspire young people about the future. Skills such as coding are important for students to learn for the future, Accenture’s Hour of Code is a great example to empower young people to develop these skills.”

Hour of Code was launched in 2013 by Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities. The program reaches millions of students through a one-hour introduction to coding and computer science.

To learn more or participate in Hour of Code visit www.accenture.com/HoC2018 or code.org.