Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joinedHadi Partovi of C ode.org and Melissa Sariffodeen of Canada Learning Code for the global launch of the 2016 Computer Science Education Week and the international Hour of Code campaign.

Hour of Code aims to introduce every student in the world to computing and broaden awareness and participation in computer science education. During the December 5th event, over 40 students from DA Moodie and Collège Catholique Samuel Genest, local schools, visited the Shopify offices to learn about technology careers and then took a 1-hour introductory coding workshop alongside Prime Minister Trudeau.

During Computer Science Education Week, students across the globe are encouraged to do an

Hour of Code: a one-hour introduction to computer science designed to demystify "code" and to show that anybody can learn the basics. To date, over 100 million students from more than 180 countries have tried an Hour of Code in over 45 languages. The campaign is supported by more than 200,000 educators worldwide.

“In the 21st century, computer science is just as important to a well-rounded education as chemistry, biology, or physics,” says Hadi Partovi, CEO of Code.org and creator of the Hour of Code campaign. “Computer science will play an essential role in our children’s future, regardless of what career they pursue or what country they live in. This global campaign has engaged 100 million students, and we’re delighted to kick it off in Canada with the Prime Minister.”

"We are very excited that Code.org is formally launching the Hour of Code campaign in Canada,” said Melissa Sariffodeen “and honoured to have the enthusiastic participation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.”

Melissa is the CEO of the trailblazing coding education organization Ladies Learning Code, and co-founder of the recently launched Canada Learning Code. “We are a nation of diverse, creative, talented individuals with endless potential for innovation, but without access to the coding education that will help us tap into that potential, we risk stagnating as a nation. I'm thrilled to know that Canadian youth will be able to take advantage of the wonderful Hour of Code program, and I'm encouraged to see our Prime Minister taking such an active interest in computer science education," said Melissa.

Canada Learning Code is the official launch partner of Hour of Code in Canada. Since launching on October 6th, 2016, Canada Learning Code has garnered widespread attention for its bold commitment to reaching 10,000,000 million Canadians with coding education by the year 2027.