Cape Town, 10 Feb 2009
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and Telkom Foundation have collaborated on the establishment of an e-learning centre and Internet caf'e at Grassy Park Senior Secondary School, in Cape Town. This new centre will provide students with free access to high-speed Internet service, and will further boost access to advanced communications services to the school's neighbouring communities.
This project, a key component of Alcatel-Lucent's corporate social responsibility programme in South Africa, will provide funding to support the school and its community by setting up a fully equipped e-learning centre with DSL connectivity for a better learning experience for scholars and for easy Internet access to the surrounding community.
The centre will be equipped with the latest high-performance computers, high-speed Internet access, and a complete set of learning facilities and tools. It will be able to accommodate about 25 students at a time.
“This initiative is part of Alcatel-Lucent's corporate social investment programme, which places education high on its agenda, with a view toward developing local talent and providing better learning opportunities for underserved areas,” said Alcatel-Lucent South Africa's Managing Director, Mervin Kamoetie. “We believe that young people must have access to information technology during their formative years so that, as a country, we can be competitive globally."
Grassy Park High School serves a disadvantaged community in Cape Town, with the vision to be a community-based school that contributes to the development of the country by providing educational services to young students as well to adult learners.
“Our contribution to this exciting project is yet another step along the way in our determined effort to narrow the digital divide around the globe,” said Thierry Albrand, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent's “Digital Bridge” initiative. “For Alcatel-Lucent, this e-learning centre is not just a donation, it is part of our role for the community, as we aim to sustain our global technological leadership and help the world communicate better, while meeting our obligations to communities we live and work in. This commitment to social responsibility is one of Alcatel-Lucent's most enduring and important corporate values.”
This joint initiative between Alcatel-Lucent and Telkom SA is the second of its kind in South Africa, where these two companies are working together to create an ICT services platform accessible to assist deserving communities with access to the communications world, thereby narrowing the digital divide in the country. A similar initiative, known as the Mzansi Internet Caf'e, was launched in Tembisa, North East of Johannesburg in 2006, and this Internet caf'e is still rendering services to the community of Tembisa.
Share