Albania’s youth get a GLOW up in STEM skills

Twelve young students hold handmade paper flowers in front of their faces — Girls Leading Our World with Code camp taught new skills to the youth and improved their self-confidence.

Albania faces an emigration challenge that impacts the country’s workforce today. Communities are working to address this issue in an unexpected way: offering a two-week coding summer camp to girls.

Despite today’s evolving gender roles, deeply ingrained societal norms still shape the careers Albanian youth pursue. Creating opportunities in which girls can develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)—fields historically dominated by men—may lead to a national shift in the workforce.

After community members expressed interest in receiving support to build these skills, Volunteers started a Girls Leading Our World with Code (GLOW Code) camp in 2023. Peace Corps Volunteers have co-facilitated GLOW camps around the world since 1995, but for many Albanian communities, this was their first coding camp experience.

Five young women put gummy bears on toothpicks — The camp day starts with an activity that promotes teamwork and communication.

“Another Volunteer and I had access to brand-new computer labs at our sites and knew we wanted to create a tech-related program since kids in rural Albania seldom have exposure to computers at home. We also noticed that the new computer labs often went unused,” said Volunteer Maria T.

Another Volunteer, Will F., explained the impact of expanding computer access to young girls: “Women in STEM fields face significant barriers to entry. There are many factors to this, but one is that the girls who gravitate towards this [focus area] do not consider it initially. It is not even on their radar.”

The participation of girls from grades 7 to 11 in 2023 was a small but significant step towards transforming their own professional expectations for themselves as well as those of their parents. However, it was obvious that if the camp was to sustainably expand or attract talented professionals who could share their expertise, more funding would be needed.

“We work closely with Volunteers to help ensure their projects are designed for sustainability. That means focusing not just on the direct impact with end-beneficiaries, but also the indirect impact on implementing partners via capacity strengthening,” explained Peace Corps Albania’s Director of Programming and Training, James Ayers.

In-country Peace Corps staff provided guidance on how to submit a grant through Peace Corps’ Partnership Program. The awarded funds covered the cost of 6 venues, essential equipment, and training materials for an additional 6 communities to facilitate their own camps in 2024. The grant also sponsored 13 professionals, allowing them to return to their rural hometowns and serve as camp coding instructors for 102 girls across 7 camps.

This past summer, the GLOW Code camp continued its growth, reaching 146 girls across 11 camps.

A young girl practices software coding on a laptop — Campers learn to design and build a website.

Sarah C., a Volunteer, explained how camp duties were shared: “GLOW Code is run as a collaborative partnership between community members and Volunteers. During the camp, Volunteers administer the leadership and games curriculum, while Albanian coding instructors administer the coding curriculum.”

By the end of the two-week camp, the girls knew how to design and build a website using CSS and HTML, demonstrating their understanding of both the structure and styling components of web development. They also learned the basics of SQL—the standardized programming language used to manage and manipulate data for database management.

“I witnessed girls come out of their shells and become leaders in their own right,” reflected Volunteer Elyse P.

The post-camp questionnaire confirmed what Volunteers and the local community suspected; the campers were more confident in coding, taking on leadership roles, communicating in English, and pursuing a career in STEM. One camper even applied what they learned to build a website for their mother’s hair salon while others applied to technical schools.

So, what’s next? Some of the participating communities plan on creating coding clubs to expand the previous campers’ skills and engage more youth. Efforts to foster a self-sufficient cycle of camp leaders will continue, namely finding Albanian professionals to share their expertise with younger generations and training camp graduates to take on more active roles. Volunteers are focused on strengthening local fundraising and grant writing skills to ensure community members can continue the camp even after the Volunteers complete their service.

For Volunteers interested in securing their own grant funds, Will suggests the following: “Frame your messaging so the people donating understand they are joining the journey. It’s not giving away money—it’s buying a front row ticket to positive change. Pictures, videos, and testimonials reinforce the impact and inspire future donations.”