An early spring clean of our Dojo database

Throughout the year the CoderDojo Foundation team reaches out to Dojos with updates and to see how they are getting on – through our newsletters, social channels, webinars and in-person events. Once a year, we do this more systematically to be sure each Dojo has been contacted and had the opportunity to ask questions or give feedback.

Dojo leaders heard from the Foundation team about filling out the annual survey. If you didn’t get a chance to fill it out, we sent a message asking you to let us know if your Dojo still has regular sessions or had been met with an obstacle or challenge over the last year that meant they are no longer hosting regular sessions. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to update us about their situation.

The community has grown to a considerable size with a vast geographical spread. This is very exciting. Though, sometimes it is hard to stay in touch as much as we could when our community was a smaller group. We find it essential to make sure that every Dojo still gets the support they need and that communities take advantage of having a Dojo. However, some Dojos need to pause or close down for a variety of reasons. A part of our outreach is finding the Dojos that may have closed but haven’t updated their status on our website platform (Zen).

 

Why is this important?

It is important to have up to date information on Dojo events as we want young people and parents who come to our website for the first time to be able to find the most accurate information and a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere at a local Dojo. When they come to our website to pick out their local Dojo, we want for them to find a responsive contact and an active Dojo they can join.

 

My Dojo on the map

This year we did a very thorough census on a considerable number of Dojos we hadn’t heard from. This included checking for scheduled events on the CoderDojo website (Zen), interaction with the Foundation or an active social media presence. If no activity could be detected, we changed the status to inactive and reached out to the Champion one more time. Because of this fairly strict approach a considerable number of Dojos have been removed from the map. This process isn’t perfect.

As a volunteer or Champion, there are a few things you can do to help us keep on top of things

1. Make sure to check that your Dojo is still on the map if you are active!
2. Always make sure to let us know changes in your status, you can do that through your Dojo’s profile, the change of status form or an email to [email protected]
3. Set up an event using the CoderDojo platform (Zen) or connect your Dojo listing to Eventbrite
4. Regularly check your Dojo email address, social media accounts or websites linked to your Dojo profile are up to date

To our volunteers present and past: you are amazing! That is our biggest takeaway from the annual survey as it reminds us of the dedication and the thousands of hours donated to give youth the opportunity to learn about technology and to spread their wings in an ever-changing world. There have been over 2800 Dojos in our short history, each making their community richer in opportunities for the next generation. From the bottom of our hearts: thank you for your contributions large and small that come together to make CoderDojo what it is today.