Introducing the CoderDojo Charter

Some words from James Whelton, CoderDojo founder, about the Charter:

As you all know, CoderDojo was born as a grassroots movement, which grew out of what we originally thought would be a once-off event. As it grew, much thought, passion and work by all of the ever-expanding community went into creating a unique set of environments that are special to many people in many different ways. To see it grow and this same special environment preserved, continuing to make an impact on the lives of many children, parents and mentors makes me feel at awe, proud and a host of other emotions I won’t specify to try maintain my ‘street cred’.

CoderDojo belongs to the community and over the last 2 and a half years, CoderDojo has been defined and shaped by us, the community. We’ve seen and learned a lot from cultures, places and people around the world. Now at a more mature stage, it is important we preserve and protect the CoderDojo ethos, principles and values so it can continue to be special and bring impact to people for a very very very long time.

Previously these factors were relayed by word of mouth, through articles and media, both online and offline. As CoderDojo grows and develops, to ensure we keep these, we’ve created the HWF Charter for CoderDojo, encompassing these core aspects, both from the inception and what we have learned to date, to create a foundation of engagement that does not limit CoderDojo, but facilitates it to achieve new heights.

While there is a never a ‘one-size-fits-all’, the charter adapts to whether you’re running a Dojo in Tokyo to San Francisco to my hometown of Cork in Ireland. Some of the thinking behind aspects of it may not be so obviously, our views will be coloured by our experiences to date, for example if you run a Dojo in a high income or low income area, if there is a culture of socialism vs capitalism in your country, etc. The charter ensures the same specialness across the board and the elements that make a CoderDojo what it is and accessible to all.

The charter when in development has undergone much scrutiny, debate and discussion in the Committee of Mentors (previously posted about in here). I’ve welcomed this with welcome arms as it shows people are truly passionate about the future of CoderDojo. There are no new rules in this, rather more clarity and definition. Almost every, if not all current Dojos operate within it or very close to this ethos currently.

The Hello World Foundation which I setup 10 months has been driving this. HWF was setup to further develop CoderDojo (everything from the nitty gritty of the site staying up to dealing with the protection of the org) and help establish a strong, sustainable, lasting foundation to CoderDojo ensure the benefit of everything we’ve worked for to date is felt for a long time. HWF is not trying to control CoderDojo, but facilitate it and help act as a interface and a structured entity to perform duties that CoderDojo as a decentralised, community run movement can not but still needs. What we’re working is crucial (we wouldn’t have invested in it so much if it wasn’t) to the long term success of what we do and preemptively protecting us all before issues arise.

As CoderDojo grows and develops at breakneck speed, with Dojos springing up all over the world,  the charter is vital, not just for who we are today, but the mentors, children, parents, volunteers and everyone involved for the next one hundred years (I better kick drinking so much coffee 😉 ).

This is a special moment, as this Charter will be an interface for all future Dojos, as much as I hate being soppy and emotional (I try maintain my hip n’ fresh image for the kids) this is a moment in our history and thank you for being here for it.

Hello World Foundation charter for CoderDojo

All Dojos are required to agree with the below CoderDojo Charter. This Charter encompasses the basic ethos and core aspects of the CoderDojo movement, which all Dojos are founded on. The introduction of the Charter was announced by co-founder James Whelton to the CoderDojo Organisers Group on the 3rd of December 2013.

Charter

For the purposes of this Charter, “CoderDojo” shall mean the open source, volunteer led movement orientated around running free not-for-profit coding clubs. “Dojos” shall mean the not-for profit coding clubs established to support communities and spread the philosophy of CoderDojo.

All Dojos are independent, autonomous, community groups set up to inspire young people to learn code. All Dojos have different styles of operating but they all hold the same ethos.

  • We commit to inspiring and supporting young people to learn how to create technology
  • We commit to always uphold the best interests of the young people attending our Dojo and ensuring best-practices are followed
  • We commit to the highest possible standards of child protection in our jurisdiction
  • We commit to not charging children attending nor their parents
  • We commit to encourage parent participation within our Dojo
  • We commit to sharing our knowledge for free (libre and open)
  • We commit to share our knowledge within our Dojo and to other Dojos
  • We commit to take care and uphold the good name of the global CoderDojo community
  • We commit to encouraging collaboration, peer to peer mentoring and project work between the attendees
  • We commit to welcoming volunteers and children regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, creed, religion or ability.

Hello World Foundation (HWF) commitments to you:

  • HWF commits to act in the interest of the global CoderDojo community
  • HWF commits to facilitating the community to share its knowledge
  • HWF commits to sharing our resources for free
  • HWF commits to encouraging active involvement in our organisation

Agreement

  • On registration you are making an agreement with the Hello World Foundation and agreeing to follow the CoderDojo ethos.
  • You are entitled to use the CoderDojo name, logo and website to promote your activity for non commercial use
  • You are entitled to fundraise on the condition that it is made explicit you do so for your Dojo or as a group of Dojos under a group name (EG Dojos of California) and inappropriate fundraising is a breach of this Charter.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are compliant with legislation in your jurisdiction when undertaking any activities, including fundraising, for your Dojo or group of Dojos.
  • If the terms of this Charter are breached, Hello World Foundation retains the right to remove the group from the website. In this case your coding club shall cease using the CoderDojo name, brand and logo in the promotion of your coding club and on third party websites.
  • Opinions expressed by any individual Dojo or people in the registered Dojo do not represent the views of Hello World Foundation.
  • Hello World Foundation may terminate this Charter with any Dojo without cause on thirty days’ notice.
  • As Hello World Foundation is an Irish entity, this Charter is subject to Irish law and you agree to that.

Disclaimer of Liability

  • Hello World Foundation and CoderDojo accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever where a party is injured while engaging in the activities of a registered group. It is the responsibility of each club to ensure they maintain valid and appropriate insurance.
  • You are solely responsible for the activities conducted by your own Dojo. Agreeing to this Charter does not constitute endorsement of those activities by the Hello World Foundation.

Additional information

Version Number 2
Publication Date 6th December 2013