As I enter the CoderDojo in Ringwood, Scott Davey, the organiser of this volunteer-led children’s programming and technology club, waves me in with a smile. Despite the 40 or so other sets of eyes in the room, no-one else noticed my arrival. They are far too focused on the activity in front of them.

It’s not surprising to find my younger brother, a self-confessed geek, in a room full of technology. With a background in computer systems engineering and a Master of Business (Strategy Innovation) degree, Scott is the Managing Director of a software development company. Yet, rather than a business venture, this is Scott’s personal project; a voluntary commitment of his time and substantial experience, and a way to inspire the next generation in the use of technology.

A loving father of three young children, 42 year-old Scott had been looking for a way to connect kids with coding when, in July 2016, he watched the ABC’s Four Corners episode entitled ‘Future Proof’. Its discussion regarding Australia’s education system’s ability to teach the innovation skills that will be required for the jobs of the future was of great interest to him.

Scott says that innovation is his thing. “It’s what I did my Masters on. It’s what I do at work. I’m all about formalising innovation in my career, and bringing that to kids was kind of interesting,” he said, referring to the show. “I was seeing the results of some of the programs, and one of them was CoderDojo.”

Originating in Ireland in 2011, CoderDojo is a world-wide movement of community-based coding clubs for young people aged from seven to 17 years.   There are more than 1,100 registered clubs across 63 countries. Twelve months ago, only a few were based in Melbourne.

Scott quickly learned that Realm, the new library and community hub in Melbourne’s east, was interested in establishing a CoderDojo. “The library as we once thought of it was all these stuffy books and corridors of shelving,” he said, “but really, if you break it down, the library is two things – information and community. So what a great place for something like this to be held.”

Within a matter of weeks of Scott offering his assistance to establish the club, the first CoderDojo session was held at Realm with Scott as one of its ‘Champions’.

“On a good day at CoderDojo, you see some of these kids come in for their first time and there’s this a-ha moment, this spark that lights up their eyes when they first achieve something and they understand that they’re the master of the computer; they can control it; they’ve written their first program,” Scott explained. “It’s a beautiful thing to see. It really is. We don’t get it every time, but that’s what we’re aiming for in each session.”

“I think there’s something that happens when you’re a parent,” Scott said, “where you want to give back and to help the next generation and there’s something that’s very rewarding about that. This is my way of doing that.”