A few weeks ago, YMCA Europe joined the National Championship of the VEX Robotics Competition, organised by our Belgian partner FuturesUs.
What we witnessed went far beyond a robotics contest.
There were intense matches, coding under pressure and last-minute technical adjustments. But more importantly, there was teamwork. Young people coordinating strategy. Testing ideas. Solving problems in real time. Stepping naturally into leadership roles.
Robotics was the platform. Skills development was the outcome.
Technology as an Enabler, Not a Goal
Through our partnership with HP and the HP HOPE initiative, FutureUs received refurbished laptops that supported the competition throughout the weekend.
FutureUs’ mission is to increase youth engagement, especially girls, in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) through robotics programs and competitions to prepare them for the professional world.
Participants used these devices to programme, test and refine their robots between rounds. They debugged code under time pressure. They analysed performance. They improved with each iteration.
The link is direct: access to reliable technology accelerates learning.
When young people have the right tools, they do not simply perform better in competitions. They gain confidence. They take ownership. They start seeing themselves as capable of shaping solutions.
From Competition to Capability
Events like this reflect what YMCA Europe is building across the continent: practical environments where digital skills are applied, not just taught.
Hands-on experimentation.
Peer collaboration.
Structured challenges.
Real feedback loops.
This is how digital literacy turns into employability skills.
This is how curiosity becomes competence.
Empowering the next generation is not about distributing devices alone. It is about creating the conditions where young people can test ideas, fail safely, improve, and lead.
Technology matters.
But trust, responsibility and opportunity matter more.
This initiative is part of YMCA Europe’s ongoing partnership with HP through the HP HOPE programme, which provides refurbished technology to strengthen digital access, skills development and community learning spaces across Europe.
