The INDIGital Program recently hosted over 20 Indigenous youth in Edmonton at a month-long hands-on program to learn digital technologies with traditional Indigenous knowledge. The INDIGital Program aims to increase digital literacy and access to technology for youth and is run by the Indigenous-led non-profit organization Indigenous Friends Association.

Strategic Program Director for the Indigenous Friends Association Danielle Paradis shares what Indigenous youth learned during the four-week program that ran from May 9 to June 3.

Students take a stretching break from coding. Photo courtesy of INDIGital.

The program, which originated in Toronto, is now being delivered across Turtle Island, with Edmonton being the first city to run the program since the  start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paradis says that the association felt very honored to work alongside Edmonton Public Library at Thunderbird House with Nookum Jo-Ann Saddleback there to welcome them with open arms.

Paradis says that they are planning for it to be an ongoing program in Edmonton with in-person learning in the future, but there will be online courses available for the time being. The next in person session is being held in Ontario, with hopes of bringing it back to Edmonton again soon.

Paradis wants Indigenous people to know there are flexible jobs in the tech industry with it being an immersive field, and hopes that INDIGital will be an introduction to the industry for youth.

For more information and how to sign up for the program, visit indigenousfriends.org

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