The Challenge
Future-Tech Literacy Is Now the Baseline for Opportunity
Maryland’s economy is shifting fast around AI, data, and cyber innovation. State workforce projections show thousands of open tech and cyber roles each year, but our local talent pipelines aren’t keeping pace. “Tech literacy” today means more than coding, it’s AI, creative technology, digital storytelling, and responsible innovation.
Baltimore has the creativity and ambition; what’s missing is clear access and awareness. The Forward Project exists to bridge that gap, turning curiosity into capability. (DoIt MD)
K-12 Access and Participation Gaps Persist
While Maryland has expanded computer-science education, access and enrollment still vary widely by district. Research shows that even one computer-science course can raise lifetime earnings by nearly 8%, especially for Black, brown, and low-income students. Yet those same groups remain underrepresented in the very programs that shape the future economy. (CODE Advocacy Coalition)
- Uneven Availability: Some Baltimore schools still lack full computer-science pathways or trained instructors, leaving thousands of students without exposure to foundational skills.
- Missed Momentum: Early curiosity in tech often fades before high school because families and teachers lack visible next steps; internships, mentors, or project-based programs that keep students engaged.
- Representation Gaps: Girls and students of color make up the majority of city classrooms but a minority of those enrolled in advanced STEM or CS courses.
Connectivity and Digital Equity Still Hold Us Back
Baltimore continues to close the broadband gap, but reliable home internet and digital-skills training remain uneven. About 20% of households still face affordability or access barriers, and new rollbacks in hotspot lending threaten to widen the homework gap again. Without consistent connectivity, young innovators lose their window to participate in the digital age. (Mayor Brandon Scott)
Schools Are Racing to Define Responsible AI Use
Maryland is actively developing K-12 AI guidelines, but teachers and districts lack the training and tools to implement them effectively. The Forward Project turns policy into practice — giving students, educators, and families hands-on ways to explore AI safely, creatively, and ethically. (Maryland Department of Education)
Baltimore’s Youth Are Growing, but the On-Ramps Are Fading
City Schools now serve nearly 77,000 students, a growing base of untapped potential. Yet the excitement around future-tech fields hasn’t reached them. The same “low visibility” problem identified in our original campaign still exists today — only now, it’s complicated by AI anxiety, trust gaps, and a lack of cultural relevance.
We have the talent. We just need to make the opportunity visible, inspiring, and local.
The Problem in One Sentence
Baltimore’s next generation is growing up in an AI-driven economy where tech literacy determines access to education, jobs, and wealth, but opportunity, awareness, and relevance haven’t caught up.
The Forward Project is here to change that: making future-tech literacy visible, desirable, and accessible by blending culture, creativity, and community learning into one movement that turns curiosity into careers.
The Hypothesis
If Baltimore’s students, parents, and educators are given visible, creative, and community-driven access points into future-tech learning, supported by mentorship, storytelling, and real-world application, then interest and participation in STEM and AI pathways will rise, leading to measurable gains in academic engagement, local workforce readiness, and economic mobility.
This hypothesis builds on three tested insights:
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Visibility drives engagement.
When students see people who look and sound like them succeeding in creative-tech fields, their self-belief and participation rates increase dramatically. -
Community accelerates learning.
Shared experiences, from neighborhood pop-ups to The Forum showcase, create belonging and accountability, making tech education feel like a cultural movement, not a classroom requirement. -
Creativity unlocks retention.
Integrating arts, media, and entertainment with STEM principles makes complex concepts tangible and relevant, sustaining curiosity far beyond the first workshop or course.
Therefore, The Forward Project posits that cultural relevance + community engagement + creative practice = sustainable tech literacy.
Senator Larry Young
President, National Action Network
Solution
The Forward Project is our answer to the widening gap between talent and access, a citywide campaign that makes future-tech literacy visible, desirable, and attainable for every young Baltimorean.
We’re not creating another program. We’re building a movement. One that blends community storytelling, creative technology, and education into a shared path forward.
At its core, The Forward Project is built on three pillars:
- The Spark
- The Forum
- The Forge
1. The Spark
A digital storytelling and awareness campaign that meets students where they already are, online.
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Inspires curiosity through short-form videos, local role models, and interactive content.
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Highlights real stories of Baltimore creators using tech to power music, fashion, sports, and innovation.
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Drives families and educators to accessible resources, workshops, and scholarship information.
2. The Forum
An annual city-wide experience that turns learning into culture.
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A hybrid event where students showcase projects, meet mentors, and explore future-tech careers.
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Blends live music, art, and innovation challenges to celebrate both creativity and curiosity.
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Connects parents, schools, and local businesses to form a living ecosystem of support.
3. The Forge
Pop-up innovation labs and mentorship spaces across Baltimore.
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Offers students and teachers hands-on experiences with AI, coding, design, and digital storytelling.
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Operates as a bridge between schools, universities, and local employers.
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Provides structured pathways for students to evolve from “curious” to “career-ready.”
Together, these pillars transform awareness into action.
The Forward Project equips Baltimore’s next generation to thrive in an AI-driven world as creators, innovators, and storytellers of their own future.