How Armenia is trying to build a Silicon Valley in the Caucasus

The country is aiming to boost its technology sector by training children in tech from a young age.

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In a typical three-storey state school in the suburbs of Yerevan, the Armenian capital, nine-year old Slavik is demonstrating his invention - a box with three LED lights.

"He has learned how to control it, and the programming language. You can see the code is written by him," says Maria, the 21-year-old tech coach leading the class.

Next to them, 14-year-old Eric and Narek are showing their smart greenhouse model that monitors temperature and controls fans automatically through a mobile app.

Other children are enthusiastically showcasing their inventions: games, robots, apps and smart home projects.