Calling all bedroom programmers

Young Rewired State (YRS) this year (5) is growing. The community is growing and the strength of that community is becoming the most important thing to every child who is currently, or has been, a part of YRS. We have never tried to falsely nurture this and we have never exploited it, and never will.

To this end we have never sought to be *funded*, to have expectations set in order to achieve imagined gains in return for easy money. Instead we have worked hard to prove ourselves worthy of sponsorship, to receive the hard-won CSR budget or few extra pounds and dollars people may have, to help us cover the costs of what we do. None of us earn very much! But we are all very happy in what we do.

This year we have secured enough sponsorship (thank you to our wonderful sponsors) to welcome 1000 kids for free, any child aged 18 or under with a desire to learn or extend their skills is welcome in 60 centres across the UK, ending with a free weekend at the Custard Factory in Birmingham, a Festival that has attracted speakers giving up their time for free from across the globe who will chat informally on steps and in gardens to any UK child who wants to ask a question. We have superstars coming – soon to be announced.

Conrad Wolfram, Izzy Lawrence and Dallas Campbell will be there to celebrate their achievements during the week, and Rosy Cheeks Productions will capture it all on film.

What I would like to ask now, is for your help. Our sponsorship covers costs for food, water, chairs (insanely expensive for some reason), venue and a small hardship fund. We do not have funds for going into schools, for PR and the like – and so I am calling on the network.

All we need is for every child who needs to be there, to be a part of this, to know about the opportunity. We don’t care about numbers, if only 10 kids turn up, then ten kids get a lot of food, but we want those ten kids to find us and the 1000+ community already here.

We do not ask you for money, we ask you to look to your own friends and family, and spot those bedroom programmers, the kids who are forever on their computers, tell their parents or their friends, put fliers and posters up in their schools – actively make it so that they cannot fail to see what we are offering, and then let them decide. This last half of the school term is the perfect time and I will go and speak in schools if it helps.

To reiterate, this is *not* a numbers game – but we really want to find them all and we want to celebrate them for a week and introduce them to a community of their peers, to encourage them to keep their head in the game (with no High School Musical songs).

Please help. Here is a page with a leaflet and a poster https://youngrewiredstate.org/festival-of-code/poster-and-leaflet. Please download them and print them and share them, in schools/libraries/your work/your mates (don’t second guess peoples’ passions)

Thank you (from me personally too – please help! I know we are missing some of these kids and even if we need to accommodate more, I will find the money)

The deep link to the Festival of Code is here https://youngrewiredstate.org/festival-of-code