Dani

After coming to university in Newcastle, Dani and a friend wanted to set up a club to help the next generation get into coding. She heard the library were having similar musings, got in touch and Coderdojo was born.   

Reflecting on the difference its' made, the club has helped inspire hundreds of young people into tech careers - some of those who came 10 years ago are now working in the industry and have even become mentors at the club.  In one unintended consequence, one parent was inspired to have a career change themselves and is now a web developer.  

It's no surprise that with such amazing results that the club has seen its number grow from around 6 per month up to hosting 25 young people. Dani has been a huge driver of that success and inspiring the next generation through continuing to grow what the club offers. She also credits how the library has had a big digital shift over the years and how the team have introduced the MakerPlace as well as investing in technology like game engines to teach young people.   

One of Dani's favourite memories was the club's collaboration with the Newcastle Puppet Festival. Young people got to build puppets together with experts and have the chance to showcase them in Newcastle City Centre - something she never thought they'd do when starting out.  

Describing Gateshead Central Library in three words, Dani says its 'modern, community-led and digital-era'.