Skip to main content

Afghan coding school for girls, Code to Inspire, among 28 organizations in 16 countries receiving 2016 Google RISE Award!

linkedin.com/pulse/code-inspire-receives-google-rise-award-fereshteh-forough













The first coding school for girls in Afghanistan Code to Inspire has won the 2016 Google RISE Award, announced Fereshteh Forough, founder and CEO at the organization which describes itself as “a nonprofit committed to educating female students in Afghanistan how to code.”

“I am thrilled to announce that Code to Inspire is one of 28 organizations in 16 countries receiving a 2016 Google RISE Award!” , said Forough in a LinkedIn post. “It feels amazing and brings tears of joy to my eyes when I see the name of my country, despite its many conflicts, shining among the countries of the world” , wrote Forough invoking the recent horrific attack in Kabul that killed 68 people and wounded 347.

In a press release issued by Code to Inspire, Forough expressed gratitude to Google for the USD 25,000 prize.“With Google’s support we will be able to continue our efforts teaching these young women how to code and with those skills they can empower themselves and their communities”.

The Google RISE Award is an annual grant given to organizations that informally teach computer science to pre-university students. Code to Inspire, headquartered in New York, has a teaching center in Herat where it has 53 female students studying basic courses like HTML, CSS and more advanced ones like Mobile Application Development. Early last month, the organization held a coding marathon for its students. The girls and the instructors enthusiastically shared the work with the hashtag #CTICodeFest