Today Mozilla launched a new program it is calling “Mozilla Webmaker” to promote more widespread knowledge about how the internet works and how to help create it. Mozilla’s stated goal is to “help millions of people move from using the web to making the web.” It believes web coding should be considered as important as a core school subject.
“The web is becoming the world’s second language, and a vital 21st century skill — as important as reading, writing and arithmetic,” said Mark Surman, Mozilla’s executive director. “It’s crucial that we give people the skills they need to understand, shape and actively participate in that world, instead of just passively consuming it. That maker spirit and open ethos is vital to Mozilla, our partners, and the web.”
The announcement came in a post on The Mozilla Blog, where the details of the initiative were outlined. Mozilla Webmaker will provide the tools and projects needed to learn how to make the web and hopes to build a community around web creativity. The Mozilla Webmaker website will officially launch on June 6, where volunteers can gain access to web authoring tools and software, as well as how-tos for all levels of coding experience. Here’s a video Mozilla has provided to promote the idea that everyone should be able to code:
To kickstart the program, Mozilla is campaigning for what it calls the Summer code Party. Mozilla is encouraging volunteers to host free local Webmaker events and teach-ins all over the world, to help those interested learn how to code for the web. Mozilla has provided event kits and starter projects to make it easy. The Summer Code Party has many partners on-board such as Creative Commons, Tumblr, and SoundCloud.
The “Party” starts on June 23 with two days Mozilla is calling the “Global Weekend of Code,” two days of people around the world teaching and learning coding and webmaking together.