Remixing Beats with Purpose: Learning to Code with Social Impact

Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director, TakingITGlobal

The verse “don’t tell me I’m too old to rap” is a line of poetry by Elder Duke Redbird from Saugeen First Nation which was selected by a high school participant to conclude a remix as part of the Your Voice is Power Hackathon held today at Deloitte headquarters in downtown Toronto.

The remix also includes verses from Dakota Bear who had just delivered a keynote presentation for the group of nearly 100 participants. The culminating activity during the Hackathon involves presenting the remixed song with an explanation of how it relates to addressing at least one of the TRC Calls to Action.

As a selected finalist, the student explains that we are never too old to make a change and that their experience at the Hackathon on Saturday June 17th taught them that we all have a role to play in helping to ensure that the rights of Indigenous peoples are respected.

It was only a few weeks ago that Duke was in a recording studio to share his poetry as a new addition to the collection of artists who have agreed to collaborate as part of the Your Voice is Power Program.

This event was organized by TakingITGlobal and Amazon Future Engineer together with BridgeTO and Deloitte to bring together nearly 100 students for a 10 hour intensive learning experience designed to cultivate digital skills, creativity and social awareness.

The program offers free online self-paced learning modules and access to the Earsketch software to remix beats from artists including Alicia Keys, Jayle Wolf and Dakota Bear. The curriculum content was led by Anishinaabe educator Christine M’Lot who has taken on several active facilitation roles as part of in-person hackathon events.

After several rounds of judging, two student teams were selected to win prizes, with the top students receiving brand new iPads — and being encouraged to enter next year’s contest for a $5,000 scholarship!

In our exit survey, students shared several insights about the impact of the day on their learning and future aspirations:

91% of students said they feel they increased their knowledge and confidence in coding and digital skills

One of the participants’ response shared that “I used to think… coding was boring” and “now I think… coding is fun”

97% of students shared that their knowledge about Indigenous history, culture, and social justice have increased

In another survey response, a student shared “There is a lot more to Indigenous history than what’s taught in school”

74% of students say they are now more interested in exploring post-secondary studies or a job in technology, computer science and/or coding

A student responded “now I think… programming can be fun and a potential career option.”

Special thanks to the many dedicated volunteers from BridgeTO, Amazon, and Deloitte who made the day a success!