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Where Afghan learners become builders.

Intensive coding Bootcamps, taught fully live by working developers and free for everyone accepted. We teach Afghan learners wherever they are, with a focus on women and girls.

Explore the programs Support a student
$0 tuition for students Non-profit in BC, Canada
Students follow a live coding lesson on a projected screen while the instructor helps a student at her desk
Live, hands-on teaching
A full lecture hall at a CodeWeekend community session at Kardan University in Kabul
Community sessions in Kabul
An online Demo Day: a slide of graduates' apps, video tiles of organizers and mentors, and a chat full of congratulations
Demo Day, online

Since 2014From a volunteer community in Kabul to free, fully-live Bootcamps.

CodeWeekend at a glance A decade of live teaching.
  1. 10+years of community events, trainings, and Bootcamps
  2. 100+sessions, events, and trainings run by volunteers
  3. $0tuition — every Bootcamp is free for those accepted
  4. Liveevery session taught by a working developer
Who we serve

For learners with the fewest doors open.

We teach Afghan learners inside and outside Afghanistan, with a focus on women and girls. Some arrive having never built a website. Others know enough to want structure, feedback, and a finish line.

For many students in Afghanistan, the hardest part of an online Bootcamp is not the code. It is showing up.

  • Classrooms closed to her

    Since 2021, girls in Afghanistan have not been allowed to attend school beyond sixth grade, and since December 2022 women have been shut out of universities.

    How we respondFully live online learning — one of the few paths still open.

  • Tuition she can’t pay

    Cost should never decide who gets to learn.

    How we respondEvery Bootcamp is free for those accepted, with full scholarships funded by partners.

  • No computer of her own

    Some of the students we admit don’t have a personal computer.

    How we respondPartners such as GiveInternet provide laptops where they’re needed.

  • A connection that drops

    Internet is expensive and power cuts are common.

    How we respondInternet packages from partners like the Linda Norgrove Foundation and GiveInternet keep students connected.

Our programs

Two Bootcamps. One path forward.

Start with the foundational Web & AI Bootcamp, then continue into Full Stack to go deeper. Both are taught live, in cohort — never asynchronous, never recorded-and-forgotten.

Step 1 · Start here Foundational

Web & AI Development Bootcamp

A 12-week, fully-live program for women and girls in Afghanistan. From computer basics to building real AI-integrated web applications.

Duration
12 weeks
Format
Live · cohort-based
Level
Beginner to job-ready
Tuition
Free (scholarship-funded)

Who it’s for

Women and girls in Afghanistan, starting from computer basics. Some arrive having never built a website.

What learners leave with

A live, deployed developer portfolio and an AI-powered app of her own, presented at Demo Day.

Skills learners gain

  • Computer & internet basics
  • Git & GitHub
  • HTML & CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Responsive design
  • React
  • APIs
  • AI & LLM integration

Taught live by working developers, with female mentors from Afghanistan and abroad joining sessions.

Explore the full program Learn about future cohorts
BrainNote AI by Fareshta Foladi — colorful notes board with search and pinned ideasPitchPilot by Lima Rahimzai — startup coach dashboard for idea analysis and pitch draftsAI Movie Analyzer by Roqia Stanikzai — film tracker that reads reviews and suggests taste patterns
Capstone apps by Web & AI graduates

How it unfolds

  1. 01
    Foundations

    Computer basics, the internet, Git, and essential digital tools.

  2. 02
    Frontend development

    HTML, CSS, JavaScript, responsive design, and React.

  3. 03
    Introduction to AI

    Connecting large language models to web applications.

  4. 04
    Capstone & Demo Day

    Design and build your own app, then present it live.

Step 2 · Go deeper Advanced

Full Stack Development Bootcamp

Our six-month, advanced bootcamp for graduates of the foundational program. Goes deep on backend, infrastructure, and the system design skills that take graduates from job-ready to senior-track.

Duration
6 months
Format
Live · cohort-based
Prerequisite
Web & AI or equivalent
Tuition
Free

Who it’s for

Developers who are already building things and want to go deeper. Most come from the Web & AI Bootcamp; self-taught developers with equivalent experience are welcome too.

What learners leave with

A capstone, typically with a partner organization that needs real engineering work, plus senior-level interview preparation.

Skills learners gain

  • Node.js
  • Python
  • Go
  • Databases
  • System design
  • Docker
  • CI/CD
  • Infrastructure as code
Explore the full program Express interest
A student's admin dashboard project, with charts and a sales overview, open on a desktop monitor
Run before
75
participants in 2021, with Scrimba
30
students in 2022, from 250+ applications, with Hackajob

How it unfolds

  1. 01
    Backend development

    Servers, routing, authentication, and database design.

  2. 02
    Systems thinking

    Caching, queueing, observability, and designing for failure.

  3. 03
    DevOps & infrastructure

    Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code.

  4. 04
    Capstone & interview prep

    Real engineering work and senior-level interviews.

The CodeWeekend Promise

What every learner can count on.

Learning to code from Afghanistan takes courage — through power cuts, costly internet, and classrooms closed to girls. Whoever you are and wherever you join from, this is what we promise every student we accept.

  • A real teacher, live, every session.

    No pre-recorded videos to sit through alone. Every session is taught live by a working developer, so you can ask your question the moment it comes up.

  • You will never learn alone.

    Pair programming, peer code reviews, and a cohort that goes through every week with you — then a community that stays long after graduation.

  • Mentors in your corner.

    Working engineers and dedicated female mentors from Afghanistan and abroad share their professional journeys and answer the questions only practice can produce.

  • Free, so cost never decides.

    Every Bootcamp is free for those accepted. Partners such as the Linda Norgrove Foundation and GiveInternet help with scholarships, internet packages, and laptops where needed.

Real work, real impact

Skills you can see. Projects they built themselves.

One rule runs through every Bootcamp: if you learn it, you build with it. Learners finish with real projects they can share — from a first personal website to their own AI-powered apps, presented live at Demo Day.

  • Web & AI · 2025

    A platform for her own voice

    by Mahdia Khamoosh

    A personal website built from scratch to share her interests and perspective from Panjshir.

  • Web & AI · 2026

    SafeNet Home

    by Mahdia Hassani

    Flags common scams and coaches everyday digital security habits.

  • Web & AI · 2025

    Silver Screen

    by Elhama Salah

    A responsive movie platform with featured films, listings, and cinema information.

  • Web & AI · 2026

    AfghanBuddy

    by Jamila Waziry

    Explores Afghan destinations and culture, then builds trip plans.

I learnt things that I was not able to learn in my 4 years of Computer Science class in one of the private universities.

Mustafa MohammadiBootcamp 2021–2022

CodeWeekend gave me the practical experience and confidence to build real-world projects.

Zahra AhmadiWeb & AI Bootcamp 2026
Explore student projects
Our track record

Every cohort since 2019 built the next.

CodeWeekend began as a volunteer developer community in Kabul in 2014. Since the first Bootcamp in 2019, every cohort has depended on support from partners and individual donors.

  1. 2019 12graduates

    Our free pilot Bootcamp accepted 20 learners.

  2. 2021 75participants

    A remote, full-time cohort for learners inside and outside Afghanistan, with continuing mentorship.

  3. 2022 30learners

    Joined from more than 250 applicants. Hackajob funded scholarships for 20 women, and Scrimba gave 100 learners a year of premium access.

  4. 2025 280+applicants

    The first Web & AI Bootcamp for women and girls in Afghanistan. 50 were admitted, and the Linda Norgrove Foundation funded 30 full scholarships.

  5. 2026 476applicants

    50 women and girls were admitted. Graduates built their own AI-powered apps and presented them live at Demo Day.

We report applications, admissions, and graduations separately and never present one as another.

See our full impact record
Support the next cohort

Far more learners apply than we have seats for.

In recent cohorts, far more people have applied than we had seats for. Every donor, partner, and mentor helps open another seat in the next Bootcamp.

  • Donate

    $25 covers one month of internet for one student. $2,500 covers a full seat: 6 months of internet, a laptop, and the live teaching through Demo Day.

    Give to the next cohort

  • Partner or fund

    Fund scholarships, internet, or laptops for Afghan learners in a future Bootcamp.

    Partner with us

  • Mentor

    Join live sessions to share your professional journey and answer the questions only practice can produce.

    Become a mentor

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