Launching Erbil Innovation House

When the pandemic first hit and we had to close down our co-working space Re:Coded House (Erbil, Iraq) in early 2020, it was hard to imagine just how much the world would change. Covid-19 has truly been a disrupting force for many industries, accelerating the digital transformation.

We worked hard to bring our programs and operations online when the world went into lockdown. The shift enabled us to reach record numbers of youth across Iraq and as we enter a new year, we have truly embraced that change and the online nature of our programming.

But with a vaccine on the horizon, there is light ahead and we’re ready to kick off 2021 with a fresh start. We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be relaunching Re:Coded House with a new name and management! Re:Coded has teamed up with our friends at the global tech non-profit Field Ready, who will take over the daily operations and on February 1 we will open the doors for the very first time at Erbil Innovation House.

Erbil Innovation House will be a co-working space together with a makerspace supporting the local community. The House is open for local entrepreneurs, makers, creatives and technologists offering desk space, meeting rooms, coffee, tea and snacks, and within the makerspace traditional workshop tools, and the latest manufacturing and prototyping technologies.

What will change and what stays the same?

Re:Coded House has been the hub of our operations in Iraq since 2019 and a place where our team, our organization and our community have shared a lot of great memories.

While this is the start of something new, many things will stay the same where others will change a bit for members, partners and for Re:Coded.

With the pandemic still raging, we don’t have all the answers for you quite yet, but this is what we do know at this point:

• In February, we will only be offering a daily walk-in package for $5 granting full access to the co-working area for one day with free WIFI and snacks.
• New membership packages will be launched from March 1.
• Current Re:Coded House Members will be gifted the month of February for free at Erbil Innovation House. You will need to show proof of membership to collect this.
• If your membership is frozen it will resume from March 1, but can be unfrozen in February upon request.
• If your membership expired during the shutdown, you will be given a one time offer of a 30% discount on your new membership effective from March 1.
• Tables will be assigned for each type of member and communication on this will come from Field Ready.
• Erbil Innovation House will still be renting out space with rates for the meeting room at $30 an hour, the training room at $40 and the co-working area at $60 an hour.
• Due to Covid-19, capacity will be limited to 24 people in the space at a time. Further Covid-19 precautions will be taken.

Field Ready will hold an official launch event for Erbil Innovation House on February 3 where more information will be provided, so stay tuned.

What does this mean for Re:Coded?

Re:Coded House has been the hub of our operations in Iraq since 2019 and a place where our team and our community have shared a lot of great memories. Erbil Innovation House, in its new iteration will continue to remain our hub. However, with the accelerated shift to online education brought on by the pandemic we’ve had to put our energies where they remain most impactful. For us, that means focusing on preparing youth in Iraq to enter the digital economy and build a career in technology through our online education programs, workshops and events.

Our commitment in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region remains strong. Going forward, our team will be working out of Erbil Innovation House and our Re:Coded Bootcamp Fellows and Alumni will have access to an exclusive table and a unique membership price that has yet to be decided.

From Jan 28, Field Ready will take over the social media accounts for Re:Coded House and rename them Erbil Innovation House. If you want to keep an eye on our future bootcamps, workshops and other programs from Re:Coded you can either subscribe to our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media at @recodedofficial (Facebook - Instagram).

We look forward to seeing you at Erbil Innovation House or online in our programs.

For further information on the future of Erbil Innovation House, please contact Ravin Rizgar at ravin.rizgar@fieldready.org