A Cambridge foundation which seeks to offer inexpensive computers to children in developing countries, has partnered with the African Union (AU) to deliver laptops to primary school students throughout Africa.
The foundation, 'One Laptop per Child' (OLPC), and the AU signed a memorandum of understanding last month, aimed at providing every child in the world with access to modern education. This agreement is valid for two years.
According to the AU, this commitment is in line with its strong desire to enable a generation of children to think critically, to connect with each other and to the world's body of knowledge, and to create the conditions for real and substantive economic and social development.
The OLPC and the AU will work together to leverage the advantages of the XO laptop - designed specifically for use in developing countries - in transforming primary school education and promoting strategies for better access to laptops and connectivity.
The Kliptown Youth Program in Soweto, the first organisation in SA to receive XO laptops from OLPC, welcomes this initiative.
The executive director of the programme, Thulani Madondo, says many children across the continent have never used a computer especially in rural areas.
“The best thing about this project is that children are taught how to use computers at a very young age,” he says.
“This is a good initiative which is going to benefit African children and it will bridge the digital divide.”
In a statement, Matt Keller, vice-president of global advocacy at OLPC, says the partnership represents another significant step toward a world in which every child has access to a world-class education, to the world's body of knowledge, and to each other.
“The AU is dedicating itself not simply to OLPC, but to a world in which children become agents of change.”
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