On July 12, 2025, at Paragon Community Hub, Jakarta, the inaugural edition of Festival Belajar Bersama Alkademi 2025 took place. This collaborative gathering brought together various communities—ranging from academic partners like STT Cipasung to industry allies like ParagonCorp and tech enthusiasts—to learn and grow together.
In this event, I had the privilege of serving as part of the organizing committee as well as a mentor for the dedicated side-event: the Kids Corner. My role was not as a main stage speaker, but rather guiding the children of event attendees so they too could experience computational thinking and creative game design firsthand.
A New Experience: From Players to Creators
Inside the Kids Corner, we welcomed eager children spanning ages 5 to 12 years old. Naturally, our approach was designed to be playful, visual, and exploratory.
The primary goal was to shift children’s perspectives from merely being consumers who play games created by others into proud creators who build their own. Using visual block-based platforms (MakeCode Arcade), they assembled character movements, obstacle interactions, and scoring mechanics for their very own mini arcade games.
Endjiansyah guiding young learners as they build their custom game mechanics during the Kids Corner session.
Witnessing the smiles and joy when their self-coded games came to life on the screen was a deeply rewarding moment for a mentor.
Joyful Moments in the Kids Corner
Facilitating children across a 5–12 age spectrum calls for adaptive communication and genuine patience. The younger ones enjoyed hands-on guidance on intuitive concepts, while older kids enthusiastically explored and customized game features.
Endjiansyah celebrating with young participants inside the Kids Corner room after completing their game projects.
Gratitude to ParagonCorp and All Participants
The Kids Corner wrapped up on a heartwarming note as children gathered with their parents. As a token of appreciation for their enthusiasm and creativity, ParagonCorp provided special goodie bags for all the young participants.
Group photo of young learners and parents holding appreciation gift bags from ParagonCorp.
Heartfelt thanks to ParagonCorp for hosting us in such a vibrant venue at Paragon Community Hub and providing delightful gifts for the children, to the Alkademi family, and to all the parents and wonderful kids who joined the Kids Corner at Alkademi Learning Festival 2025!
