After winning the One Million Arab Coders competition, a Syrian refugee was awarded $1 million in prize money. Mahmoud Shahoud, 32, fled Syria in 2013 and only learned to code after being given a free course in 2018. He’s made the most of the last four years, winning the UAE’s worldwide coding competition.
Today, we honoured the winners of the ‘One Million Arab Coders’ Challenge, the UAE’s initiative to nurture the development of technology skills among Arab youth. 1.85 million Arab participants from 80 countries took part in the initiative along with 3,600 certified trainers. pic.twitter.com/zRf5cNd8om
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) May 11, 2022
He’s putting 50% of his money into his Dubai-based IT startup. He’ll also donate the other 50% of the funds to Syrian youngsters orphaned by the ongoing war. “Coding is the quickest way for Arab youth to achieve their dreams. Coding creates the future,” said Sheikh Hamdan on Twitter.
Sheikh Hamdan, Dubai’s Crown Prince, was present at the award ceremony at the Museum of the Future to congratulate Mr Shahoud. The figures that support the material are outstanding. In total, 1.85 million Arabs from 80 different nations competed in the tournament.
