Regardless of our age, learning to code allows us to better understand the digital world in which we live, and how software and applications are working. With the support of the Rennes branch of our association E-mma , children and young people accompanied by their sponsors from the France Parrainages association, were able to discover the basics of IT.
Today, in France, one in five young people is experiencing emotional and social vulnerability. The association France Parrainages Ille-et-Vilaine’s mission is to contribute to the development of children and teenagers in the region, by providing support to isolated or vulnerable families through local sponsorship. The volunteers share their time with young people, providing them with emotional and educational support as well as social and cultural awareness. Through moments of complicity and a special relationship, they help young people to develop and build their future with confidence.
E-mma stands for human values
E-mma is an association of Epitech Technology that has been committed to promoting gender diversity in the digital field since 2013. Present in 16 Epitech locations in France and Europe, it promotes diversity in Tech by organising numerous code workshops, conferences, hackathons and mentorship for children and adults. The common values of France Parrainages and E-mma brought them together to organise a co-event in order to help young people discover the basics of IT.
We have a real interest in doing joint actions because our values are the same, and our objectives are complementary.
Delphine Godet, Deputy Head of Regions, E-mma
Programming workshops and networking sessions to breakdown stereotypes
In the school premises of Epitech Technology in Rennes, two successive activities are organized for young people and their mentors. Divided into two groups, the participants worked on the creation of a racing game in Scratch. This block-based graphical programming language offers a playful approach to algorithms. The older children had the opportunity to develop Flappy Bird in JavaScript; Flappy Bird is a mobile scrolling game, where the player controls a bird and tries to make it fly between green chimneys without touching them. JavaScript is at the heart of the languages used by web developers.
I enjoyed the experience very much and Danae (my mentee) was happy too.
Anne-Charlotte, mentor, France Parrainages Ille-et-Vilaine
The second activity is an exchange session tackling IT topics, how it’s perceived and its stereotypes. The participants were asked to pick up a post-it note which contained a question about IT and discuss the stereotype described. “Do you have to be good at maths to study computer science?”, “Is a woman as good as a man in IT?” or “ Do all computer scientists wear black hoodies to hack data?” – these were some of the topics addressed. Zinnya Del Villar, Research Director Data Scientist for the think-tank Data-Pop Alliance, an educational coach and a student from Epitech Technology in Rennes (Promo 2025) were also present during this discussion session. Their presence allowed participants to have feedback from women in the digital sector which contributes to reducing stereotypes in the IT sector.
A wonderful moment of discovery and sharing
For me, this event marked my last volunteering service within France Parrainages. Thank you all for helping me to bring this project to life! It was a really great time for the children, but also for the parents and volunteers of the association.
Lauriane, Lauriane, volunteer at France Parrainages Ille-et-Vilaine
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I was positively surprised, young people seem to have less stereotypes than before and that is very encouraging.
Delphine Godet, Deputy Head of Regions, E-mma