AT&T has partnered with Silicon Harlem and the New York Urban League to open an innovative digital learning lab. According to a CBS New York report, the lab, which opened June 20, was designed to introduce marginalized young children to tech industry careers.
The Silicon Harlem digital learning lab, located in New York City’s Harlem, is a one-of-a-kind lab in the city and the first major usage of the company’s $2 billion commitment to the program. Lessons offered by the lab include coding, augmented reality, and basic technology skills. The lab also has its own drone and a team of “Drone Cadets” on hand to teach kids how to fly it.
Silicon Harlem’s ultimate mission is to diversify the tech industry. All the technology lessons offered at the lab serve the purpose of providing access to a different world of lucrative career options to those who might not consider them due to the tech industry’s insularity.
New York Urban League President and CEO Arva Rice said at the grand opening of the lab, “We want to change that, and that’s the reason you all are here: because we want to make sure that when it’s time for you all to apply for those jobs, that you’ll be the first person to get them.’
AT&T also pledged money to the Affordable Connectivity Program, which offers discounts to families who need them. The AT&T Atlantic region’s president told CBS New York, “It’s a really big game changer, and frankly, there’s not enough New Yorkers who are eligible for the program who have signed up, so we really want to get people to do that.”
AT&T is in the process of opening more learning labs in New York, with four having successfully opened over the past year.
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