Soliyana Gizaw, a 10-year-old student from Ethiopia, has been announced as the winner of the 2020 African Code Challenge. Soliyana’s submission, which she names ‘Mathstainment’ came in first ahead of challengers from all across Africa.
Mathstainment is a coding game that aims at making math education fun for youth. Judges noted that Soliyana’s creation was unique because it also helped spread awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The African Code Challenge is a competition designed for children between the ages of 8 to 16 and requires participants to create education programs and games using the SCRATCH software. Aside from showcasing their coding skills and ability to provide education value, the competition also asked participants to illustrate the social utility of their creation.
Unique about this year’s competition was the fact that the top 3 winners of the competition were all female participants.
African Code Week’s Global Coordinator Olajide Ademola Ajayi commended the winners and all the participants for overcoming school closures and other challenges unique to school-aged children that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and showcasing an impressive list of submissions.