Ciara Teams Up With Black Girls Code For New “Build A Beat” Coding Challenge
Black Girls Code (BGC) has launched the Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara contest to inspire young coders nationwide.
Founded in 2011, Black Girls Code is a nonprofit organization that engages African American girls and other youth of color with computer programming education.
The organization offers computer programming, coding, website, robot, and mobile application building for girls and women of color ages 7 to 25.
They also partner with schools, local organizations, and dedicated volunteers to get participants the resources they need to thrive.
Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara
The contest, sponsored by Infosys Foundation USA, invites students ages 13 to 18 to code their own song for the chance to meet global superstar Ciara via a video call and win tech prizes that will help further their goals.
The aim is to “spark a musical coding revolution.”
“I am proud to be supporting this initiative and empowering young people to take their passion for music and use it to develop technology skills that can give them a leg up in life,” said Ciara.
From November 14 through December 31, 2023, young coders are invited to join Infosys Foundation USA’s Pathfinders Online Institute to access engaging video tutorials designed and developed by Black Girls Code to guide students’ coding journey.
Participants will then craft their songs and remixes, blending their creativity with sounds from artists like Ciara, Alicia Keys, Common, and Pharrell.
The Prizes
The winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges, including Hip Hop pioneer MC Lyte, music producer and entrepreneur Craig King, GRAMMY Award-winning artist and producer Bosko Kante, and others.
The Grand Prize includes a video call with Ciara and 1 Dell music production laptop for one person.
The second-place prize for two winners will be Apple AirPods Max and a free six-month subscription to Apple Music,
The third-place winner for two people is a Meta Quest 2 VR Headset.
The newly-appointed CEO of Black Girls Code, Cristina Jones, explained that Black Girls Code is for those who dare to build the world they imagine.
“The Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara is a chance for Black girls and gender-nonconforming youth of color to meet relatable role models and code something original,” she said in a press release.
You can learn more about the “Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara” contest here.
