Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Based on my personal experiences, I believe this is for two main reasons. First, education enables people to develop skills they can use to pursue their passions and dreams. Learning fuels hope and confidence, and provides creative minds with the knowledge they need to solve their community’s problems and change the world. Second, it teaches people to communicate better, which is vital in today’s world. Making the world a better place requires us to promote communication and constructive criticism in schools.

This week, invest in education. Donate or fundraise for nearby schools and help them provide better resources and services. Students cannot provide for themselves, and schools play a vital role in transforming lives and helping individuals succeed. Volunteer your time and mentor and teach students in your community. We all have countless pieces of advice to offer students, and it’s time we share them. Consider teaching coding for beginners or helping others build a passion for programming!

The opportunities I have been blessed with have changed my life and continue to fuel my motivation to work harder and help as many students as I can. The internet has made it much easier for everyone to help others, and I can think of no better investment than supporting education. 

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When our code is shared, we allow people to improve it, use it in their own projects, or make it more accessible and useful.

When I think of one project that combines worldwide fame and open source status, it usually ends up being the Linux kernel. My first encounter with the kernel was through Ubuntu, which I installed on my computer the day my machine suddenly crashed. The moment I downloaded a completely free and functional operating system, and was able to finish my school projects without the need to spend a single penny, I looked up and thanked Linus Torvalds (Linux’s creator).

I later realized that Linux was not only useful for me, but also for millions of humans who either use it for their projects or just to access websites and applications that rely on servers run on Linux.

Just like Linux, there are many open source projects where programmers from all around the world collaborate and code tools that improve productivity in various domains.

This week, I encourage you to share your code. If you are a software engineer or a programming enthusiast, consider contributing to open source projects or sharing any useful scripts you wrote on GitHub. If you are an organization that values collaboration and accessibility, consider sharing your code with the wider community.

Building a fence around code slows down human progress. When bright minds collaborate, no problem can outsmart humans.

—
Ayoub Belemlih is a junior at Macalester College, and one of four software engineering interns in Software for Good’s Spring 2017 intern cohort. 

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