New Brunswick Ladies Learning Code Chapters to Work Together
The Fredericton and the Saint John chapter of Ladies Learning Code will now be working more closely together as a New Brunswick team to offer bigger, better, more variety events with the aim to normalize computer science knowledge and get more female into the technology industry.
“We are working together to make sure that our events aren’t on the same weekend unless it’s a big Canadian-wide initiative,” says Sally Ng, the Fredericton co-lead.
Ladies Learning Code is a nation-wide movement with the mission to be the leading resource for women and youth to become builders, not just consumers of technology. Ladies Learning Code has chapters across Canada hosting workshop, like Girls Learning Code and Kids Learning Code.
Susan Almon, the group’s Saint John co-lead says that better relationship with the Fredericton chapter will allow the group to offer workshops on a month basis, switching between Fredericton and Saint John.
“Saint John and Fredericton, they are not that far apart. If Fredericton is offering a workshop they can promote it in Saint John, and people could travel up. So it’s like one chapter with two locations,” says Almon. “Then, it provides better opportunities for the province, at least in Saint John and Fredericton for now.”
Lindsay Bowman, another one of the group’s co-leads in Fredericton, says it’s important for women to be as familiar with technology as men, because in today’s world technology is integrated in everyone’s lives.
“[Coding] skills are going to be critical life skills to live in the world today. It won’t simply be for employment. It’s going to be for day-to-day activities,” says Lindsay Bowman, the Fredericton co-lead.
Fredericton and Saint John Ladies Learning Code sent out a survey to discover what kind of workshop the community would be interested in. Bowman says the result of this survey will determine the topics of the upcoming events this year.
Beyond coding workshop, Bowman says New Brunswick Ladies Learning Code will also offer other workshop related to technology, like photoshop and WordPress.
“It’s prompt an interest in learning deeper skills, like coding language and all of those extra skills,” says Bowman. “We want to be able to get people excited about using technology whether it’s for your work or whether it’s for, your personal life, or a side hustle.”