Technology plays a vital role in our daily lives. From the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep, every tool that we use is the product of a series of decisions that have shaped the world we know today. Technology also offers a response to the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face. The pace of transformation is swifter now than ever before, and as a result, the need to prepare young people for the future is only increasing. In particular, youngsters need to gain key skills—in the STEAM disciplines, for example—that are closely connected to some of the occupations and specialized fields of study that are currently among the fastest-growing.
The Inspire Garage came into being as a proposal addressing this issue. We set out to design an initiative that would be dynamic and innovative enough to attract a constituency we hadn’t interacted with before: high school students, ranging in age from 13 to 17 years old. Focusing on four areas of interest—Content and Social Media, Design, Programming, and Video Games—we aim to spark their curiosity so that they become technology creators.
We had already been working together with numerous educational and outreach organizations and programs for young people on a regular basis. Nevertheless, we wanted to launch a pioneering new proposal that would be true to our own identity. To make it happen, we started off by delving into their interests, their desires, their dreams, and their endeavors, and from there, we developed our key main messages:
- Technology is inclusive: It’s in everything, and it’s for everyone. Technology encompasses everything and every one of us.
- The world of STEAM awaits them!: Showing young people the multitude of opportunities open to them in a field that’s hungry for creative digital talent.
The Inspire Garage in 2022
Over the course of 2022, we’ve developed more than 30 pieces of content, including trainings, workshops, master classes, events, and much more. The top ones are:
- Meet The Inspire Garage: An introductory space for discovering what this initiative is, how it works, and ways to participate.
- The Inspire Workshops: Hands-on workshops for understanding and exploring the scope of technology, with four areas to choose from: Video Games, Design, Programming, and Content and Social Media.
- The Inspire Master Classes: Talks with Globant specialists, sharing in-depth knowledge on specific topics from the world of technology within each area of The Inspire Garage.
- The Inspire Garages: Longer-term mentoring for delving more deeply into each area of The Inspire Garage.
Each space was designed to engage young people with education and technology in a fun way by giving them tools to explore at their own pace. But our focus also includes the parents, educators, and influencers of our target audience, with the aim of making the project more widely known and sharing what sets us apart. As a result, we’ve had:
- More than 17 million social media impressions
- More than 50,000 community members
- More than 6,000 people who’ve joined The Inspire Garage
- More than 1,600 participants
Our next steps
We remain eager to continue enhancing the gateway to the transformative future that coming generations will be part of, and to continue creating a pathway for tackling disparities and making a positive impact around the world.
We’ll keep encouraging teens to get inspired about what interests them from an up-close and friendly vantage point, where they can express themselves and explore their likes. For 2023, we’re investing in on-demand content, using more innovative codes than what the industry offers, by educators, influencers, casters, YouTubers, freestylers, and anyone who will help us spread this message even more loudly and clearly throughout Latin America.
Want to know more about The Inspire Garage? Click here or join our Discord.
