“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.”
- Desmond Tutu
Systemic Exclusion and discrimination
In Canada, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, Black, Indigenous, and racialized children and youth are streamed into courses below their ability, and are denied educational opportunities which lead to worse learning outcomes & postsecondary options than those of their academic and white peers. Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities are most impacted through systemic exclusion and denied educational opportunities.
Limited Access
Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities in Canada and the US are disproportionally underrepresented in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Mathematics) fields and research due to a lack of access to resources and opportunities in public schools and community programs.
Existing Programs too costly & lack equitable innovation
The unemployment rate for youth between 15 and 24 is more than double that of the overall Canadian unemployment rate. Many Canadian youth have the passion to launch their own businesses to create jobs for themselves & others but skills to run businesses aren’t taught in most schools (Statistics Canada)
Barriers to success
Urban communities in poverty lack opportunities to make a living and future-proof their communities so we equip underestimated primary and secondary schools students with innovation and entrepreneurial skills that can unlock global opportunities. We believe that democratizing access to technology, resources and opportunities could eliminate urban poverty, but marginalized communities lack exposure and access to quality digital, STEAM, and entrepreneurship education, even though developed countries have an abundance of technology, resources and opportunities.
Our Program
Creating a new pathway from the Streets to the New Silicon Valley
Source Code Academy Canada is Canada’s first culture-focused futurist academy that prepares Black, low-income, and marginalized children and youth for the future of work. As a non-profit social enterprise, we are community-based and youth-led space that offers cross-disciplinary learning in STEAM education, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy with a holistic focus on creative arts, mental health, literacy, fitness & food security, socio-emotional learning, and social justice.
Our transformative purpose is to empower young people to elevate the social and economic fabric of their communities they call home, equip them to unlock their own solutions to local & global challenges, and inspire them to create value for themselves and for others. We bridge the educational gap and digital divide by building innovation and entrepreneurship centres that create a pathway from Kindergarten to Industry with our community, corporate, and educational partners. These supports include:
Mentoring
Accessibility to hands on programs
Youth development
Networking
Opportunities
