Pope Francis has given his support to a global project by Miron Mironiuk, a Polish tech entrepreneur. Mironiuk, the founder of the artificial intelligence company Cosmose AI, draws on his own experience with coding that transformed his life.
Mironiuk mentioned that the “Code with Pope” initiative aims to address educational disparities worldwide. They hope that the Pope’s endorsement will attract Catholic countries.
Pope Francis Encourages kids in Catholic Countries to Learn to Code
According to Mr. Mironiuk, “We believe that the Pope’s involvement will encourage them to take advantage of this free programming learning opportunity.”
The initiative will promote coding education through a free online learning platform for students aged 11–15 in Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Children who dedicate 60 hours to learning will acquire the basics of Python, which is one of the world’s most popular coding languages.
In the digital age, programming skills have become as essential as reading and writing.
Data from the World Economic Forum in 2023 revealed that “technology-related roles make up the majority of the fastest-growing positions.
Nevertheless, a severe global shortage of tech skills could result in 85 million job positions remaining unfilled by 2030.
Addressing the Global Impact and Papal Involvement
Consequently, it has become necessary to expand access to high-quality programming education, particularly in low and middle-income countries, many of which have a significant Catholic population.
A considerable portion of the Polish population identifies as Catholic.
Mr. Mironiuk, a 33-year-old millionaire, expressed his pride in his Polish heritage and being part of a successful group of Polish individuals working in technology,
Poland has been making significant advancements in the tech industry, particularly in AI, with companies such as Google Brain, Cosmose AI, and Open AI employing a substantial number of Polish professionals.
However, Mr. Mironiuk is also mindful of less fortunate countries and hopes that this educational program can bring about positive change.
The program will be accessible in Spanish, English, Italian, and Polish. It aims to reach children across South America, except for Brazil, as well as in English-speaking nations in Africa and South East Asia.
This isn’t the first time the Pope has encouraged young people to explore coding, as he previously contributed to writing a line of code for a UN initiative in 2019.
Mr. Mironiuk will have a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican. However, he acknowledges that he doesn’t anticipate the pontiff to follow in his students’ footsteps by acquiring new skills.
“I don’t expect him to have a strong grasp of Python, at least,” he commented. “But he will receive a certificate for his contributions to launching the program.”
