Tangible Africa to be showcased at international expo

Written by Cindy Preller

19 January 2024

Taking African solutions to the world, Tangible Africa will be exhibiting at Bett Expo in London next week (24 – 26 January), in partnership with CreativeHUT.

Known as the biggest educational technology events in the world, over 123 countries are represented to showcase the latest trends and developments to a global education community of around 30 000 people at the expo.

Tangible Africa is one of the few African organisations invited to this major expo and will be represented by Tangible Africa’s Engagement Manager, Jackson Tshabalala, and Leva Foundation’s CEO, Ryan le Roux.

Tangible Africa is an engagement project of Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation. Very little online resources are needed to play tangible coding games, by making use of Tangible Africa’s flagship applications, RANGERS and BOATS.

These coding games develop young people’s 21st century skills and are played across Africa as well as selected European countries where it was successfully introduced by Tangible Africa recently.

“We are proud of our African solution, which is not only making an impact in Africa, but it is also now being used in Europe as a solution for European schools,” said Le Roux.

Tangible Africa Founder and Associate Professor at the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department, Prof Jean Greyling, was excited by the prospect of a greater global audience being reached with the tangible coding project.

“Attending this expo is a great culmination of our work after 2023 when we increased our footprint in Europe through teacher training, participation in the EU Code Week as well as hosting the Coding-4-Mandela World Championships in December. Teams from countries such as Ireland, Germany, Cyprus, Estonia and Finland participated in the championships,” said Greyling.

Tangible Africa’s exhibition partner, CreativeHUT, provides support for educational initiatives spanning the globe. Head-officed in the UK, the company reach extends to learners of every age, nurturing the growth of vital skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking in all things STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), Music and eSports.

“Every now and then you come across a resource that impacts education globally… Tangible Africa is one of them. We are looking forward to partner with them at Bett UK,” said CreativeHUT CEO and Co-founder Gareth Boldsworth.

Last year, CreativeHUT won The Company of the Year BETT Award and has again been shortlisted for the same award this year. The awards recognise global excellence and innovation in education technology.

“We are excited and honoured to be nominated for an award that celebrates all of the hard work we have put in over the past 6 years.”