The world’s largest creative-coding platform celebrates 15 years of championing equitable access to creative learning and coding education with a week-long celebration to thank kids around the world for being a part of its community. 

Scratch, the world’s largest free creative-coding platform and community for young people, will mark its 15th anniversary with a week-long celebration to recognize the platform’s role in providing equitable access to creative learning and coding opportunities throughout the world and thank the more than 200 million young people who are a part of the Scratch community. 

Today, many students still do not have equitable access to computer science and coding education. Recent studies found that 52% of white students said they have access to coding, while only 46% of Hispanic students and 36% of African American students said the same. The latest data also shows a gender gap exists in computer science education — 73% of boys said they feel confident learning coding compared to only 60% of girls.

For the past 15 years, Scratch has been providing opportunities for kids around the globe to explore the world of technology and coding. Through the Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC), a worldwide network of organizations focused on supporting learners from historically marginalized communities, Scratch works to ensure equity-centered creative computing resources are available to everyone. 

“The success of Scratch is due to the incredible creativity and collaboration of young people around the world,” said Mitch Resnick, Professor at the MIT Media Lab and Founder of Scratch. “We developed Scratch to provide young people with opportunities to imagine, create, share, and learn, and we continue to be amazed by what they create and how they support one another. On this anniversary, I’d like to celebrate and thank the millions of young people around the world who have contributed to make Scratch what it is today.” 

After 15 years of innovation and more than 100 million projects created and shared online, Scratch remains dedicated to its loyal interactive community, known as “Scratchers,” and focused on increasing access to coding and learning around the world. The platform will continue to seek out collaborations with like-minded organizations like Deaf Kids Code, a non-profit that teaches computer science and digital design skills to Deaf students. The platform’s leaders are also committed to working with educators, parents, and policymakers to inspire the next generation of creative thinkers and give them the tools they need to create. 

“The pandemic has shed a light on inequalities and gaps in education,” said Shawna Young, Executive Director at The Scratch Foundation. “Scratch plays an important role in addressing these inequities — we are at the forefront of a global creative-learning movement that will transform how people think about learning and education. Scratch is leading the way in providing the creative digital tools needed to expand opportunities for young people globally.”

Scratch Week kicks off on May 16. Kids from all over the world are encouraged to participate in creating their own games, animations and other activities during the week-long celebration. On May 19 there will be anniversary festivities with live music, special messages, and a networking reception to commemorate Scratch’s 15 years of innovation.

Join Scratch’s 15th Anniversary Celebration and register now: https://sip.scratch.mit.edu/scratch-celebration/