Where coding is child’s play

An informal group helping children and teens develop their skills as computer coders started in Cork last year — and it’s just about to go global, writes Tommy Barker

THE activity that might have identified the next Mark Zuckerberg is in train, and it just might deliver up young Alan Panayotov, a nine-year-old schoolboy in Cork. Already reckoned to be a tech genius, he’s just one of the gang in an Irish start-up club phenomenon for computer-savvy youngsters, a movement which is about to go global.

However, the next Mark Zuckerberg might be the guy or girl sitting next to Alan, in this Saturday morning gathering of youngsters, of keyboards and of cursors.