The Gates Foundation has awarded the Smart Cape Access Project its 2003 Learning Award, worth $1 million, for the work it has done to connect residents in low-income neighbourhoods to computers and the Internet.
The award was announced this week. The Gates Foundation is the egalitarian organisation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. The organisation, headed by Gates' father, has an endowment of about $25.7 billion.
The Smart Cape pilot project was implemented in 2002, when the city installed computers and Internet access in six libraries that primarily serve disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This was reportedly the first programme to bring free access to computers and the Internet to Cape Town residents and is considered a first for SA.
Although more than 60% of Cape Town's residents have never used a computer, Smart Cape says it has had a tremendous response and more than 7 000 people use the computers each month.
"Librarians are not just custodians of books," says Smart Cape programme manager Myomena Ismail. "Now, they're helping create success stories of young South Africans."
Local government, public libraries and private enterprise have formed a partnership to support the project. In setting up the system, the city of Cape Town supplied refurbished computers, and Xerox and CableCom donated printers and network cables.
Smart Cape plans to use the $1 million award to install Internet terminals in all Cape Town libraries, upgrade existing equipment and implement training programmes.
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