This will create the largest global initiative to promote computing amongst young students.

“We have set ourselves an ambitious goal: to quadruple the number of CoderDojos worldwide, to 5,000, by the end of 2020,” said the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is becoming a corporate member of the CoderDojo Foundation (which is a bit like being a shareholder, but without any financial interest). I will also join the board of the CoderDojo Foundation as a director.

The CoderDojo Foundation brand or ethos remains the same with this merger. It will continue as an independent charity, based in Ireland.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation will also provide practical, financial, and back-office support to the CoderDojo Foundation.

The first CoderDojo took place in July 2011 when James Whelton and Bill Liao decided to share their passion for computing by setting up a club at the National Software Centre in Cork. The idea was simple: provide a safe and social place for young people to acquire programming skills, learning from each other and supported by mentors.

Since then, James and Bill have helped turn that idea into a movement that reaches across the whole world, with over 1,250 CoderDojos in 69 countries, regularly attended by over 35,000 young Ninjas.

The merger is subject to approval by Irish regulators.