Coolest Projects Belgium

Hi all,

Open up a spot in your agendas because on 27/04/2019 we will host the fourth edition of Coolest Projects Belgium! Prepare to be blown away by the tech inventors of tomorrow!

What is Coolest Projects?

In 2012 the CoderDojo foundation hosted their very first Coolest Projects. Coolest Projects is an annual tech fair for all kids great and small that love technology. The event acts as a showcase for young inventors to show off the cool projects they have been working on. Participants can win all sorts of prices and have an awesome time discovering each other’s inventions. The first Coolest Projects was a local event in Dublin, Ireland with only 17 participants. However, the event started growing each year reaching a record-breaking 700 projects in 2018.

Coolest Projects Belgium

In 2016 CoderDojo Lier decided they wanted to bring this event to Belgium. They gathered a team of enthusiastic volunteers (from Lier and far beyond) and started working on their idea. The result was the first Belgian Coolest Projects (CPBE) hosted in a church in Lier. 45 Young inventors presented their 34 Coolest Projects and showed that Belgian youth is very much tech-savvy.  

As in Dublin, the event started growing. The following year, the team was already looking for a bigger venue. Having outgrown the church (woop woop, more popular than Sunday mass) CPBE looked and found a new location in Lier: CC De Mol. With 57 participants, visitors could gaze once more at Belgians brightest inventions.

This year, Coolest Projects moved to Technopolis in Mechelen. With this tech-proof location, all the pieces were in place for the biggest Coolest Projects so far. With over 90 participants and 64 projects, Coolest Projects really turned into a nationwide event. Kids joined us from Bruges by the sea all the way to the Limburgian mining lands of Houthalen, bringing with them even more creativity.

Kids can win all sorts of prices for their dedication and skill. This is to inspire them to go the extra mile. To put some real effort in their projects and to awaken the entrepreneurs inside of them. Therefore, a team of judges (all role models themselves) is assembled to select those projects that exceeded the expectations.

Yet, Coolest Projects is not about winning. It is about giving kids the opportunity to shine. Sporty kids have their weekly game, musical kids play in concerts but tech kids had no occasion to show off their skills. HAD, because Coolest Projects Belgium successfully filled that gap. Every year these kids are given a stage to show the world that what they are doing is cool. To perhaps convince others to start coding and to learn that with tech, almost everything is possible. 

Listen what coach Tom has to say about Coolest Projects Belgium 2018.

In love with this event? Coolest Projects Belgium is looking for some extra hands for their core team. Interested? Contact them via info@coolestprojects.be.