RAQAM-E

Developing coding schools and training hubs dedicated to young people and women in Libya.

Coding is booming all over the world. It is an essential skill to acquire to develop the economy of the future and encourage the economic integration of young people. It will enable them either to find a job using new skills or start their own business online. Therefore, it is important for every country to create a pool of skilled programmers to meet the needs of the job market.

After the success of Janzour Coding Academy (JCA), which was developed with the support of the SLEIDSE project, many municipalities showed interest in opening coding schools. They see these schools as opportunities to show support for their citizens and to minimize the gap between governmental institutions and people by involving them in joint projects.

Coding as a vehicle for access to employment

Expertise France supports the Libyan government and the municipalities of Benghazi, Sebha, Tripoli, Misrata and Janzour to promote the economic integration of young people and strengthen local public actors by creating coding schools and training municipalities’ employees.

To this end, Raqam-e was launched with the aim of:

• Participating in the stabilization of the country through concrete actions on youth, employment, employability and entrepreneurship;

• Disseminating coding/computer language among young people and Libyan women to enable the creation of applications or new computer programs and support Libya in its digital transition;

• Supporting and empowering women by encouraging them to explore a wider variety of jobs related to new technologies;  

• Promoting the culture of entrepreneurship among young people by discovering new tools and meeting private sector actors;

• Bringing citizens closer to local public actors by involving them in joint projects;

• Increasing awareness and providing a lever of influence at the new administrative level of municipalities by giving them a key and concrete role in the service of their citizens.

Activities of Raqam-e

To achieve the objectives of the project, Expertise France supports the Libyan government, and in particular the Ministry of Local Governance, in developing new schools and training hubs. The agency especially contributes to:

• The creation of the National Coding Training Centre;

• The creation of 4 coding schools;

• The implementation of a women national training centre in Tripoli;

• The implementation of a co-working space dedicated to women in Janzour Municipality;

• The training of 22 trainers of trainees over 3 months;

• The renovation and refurbishment of the schools provided by the municipalities;

• The organisation of 2 yearly national hackathons in Tripoli.