JUVENTUD APK: From consumers to inventors in Cuba

Aug 8, 2019 karen's Blog

This is a guest blog by MIT Master Trainer Jose Luis Nez

One of the most important goals of MIT App Inventor is that anyone can create apps that impact the world. In this sense, UNESCO is working throught YouthMobile initiative to create apps for sustainable development where secondary school students and formerly, teachers and mentors, are been training in adquiring skills and confidence to resolve issues related to this subject. What is "Juventud APK"?

It is the effort of a whole island implemented by UNESCO's Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, in partnership with Joven Club de Computación y Electrónica, the Ministry of Communications of Cuba and the Cuban National Commission of UNESCO within the framework of the global project of UNESCO YouthMobile to empower youth leadership in the production of mobile applications for sustainable development. It tries to change the mentality of teenagers to move from consumers to inventors of apps that solve real problems.

In May I had the pleasure of being able to participate in this crucial project, training Cuban instructors who came from all the provinces of the island to learn how to use MIT App Inventor and develop strategies that promote computational thinking. In this first stage that took place at the headquarters of the Central Computing Palace in Havana, they were trained in the creation of mobile apps and publishing them on the Internet. They also learned methodologies to teach the use of the tool, and what is more important, how to use it to relate it to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UNESCO 2030 Agenda.

In addition to the face-to-face sessions, the participants during a month developed a final project consisting of an app and a workshop proposal to be taught by them. The results were impressive, and now, the second phase of the project begins. The JovenClub's instructors spread the lessons learned in their respective provinces. They are amplifying the transmission of knowledge and promoting the change of mentality of Cuban adolescents: move from consumers to inventors of their apps.

Nowadays, I am welcoming a multitude of motivating photos from different locations on the island of how this initiative is working. The work is awesome!

Congratulations and welcome to the Cuban community of MIT App Inventor!

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