OLPC distributes laptops in Africa

Partnering with schools and non-governmental organisations in Africa, undergraduate and graduate students from around the world aiming to provide educational opportunities that facilitate self-expression and exploration for children.

OLPC is providing each team with 100 XO laptops, related hardware, and up to US$10,000 for operating costs. Student teams will have the opportunity to attend an orientation workshop in Kigali, Rwanda from 8 - 17 June, 2009.

They will then spend nine weeks in an African nation, working directly with local community partners to integrate the XO into primary education. OLPC founder and chairman Nicholas Negroponte said that the new program "represents a determined effort by OLPC to engage university students worldwide in bringing an education revolution to children living in some of the most remote places on Earth.

By empowering students from a multitude of countries and cultures to act as agents of change, the belief that all children have a right to quality education - regardless of where they happen to live - will spread across the globe."

To date, OLPC has distributed over 500,000 XO laptops worldwide. The One Laptop per Child association developed a low-cost laptop - the "XO Laptop" - aiming to revolutionise the education system.

OLPC's mission is to provide educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed.

The OLPCorps program features a high level of local community involvement, as local schools and NGOs will sustain the project for years to come.

Student teams will:

• travel to one of the 53 African countries of their choosing for 9 - 10 weeks
  
• participate in a ten-day orientation in Kigali, Rwanda at OLPC's office
  
• receive up to $10,000 per team for operating costs
  
• deploy 100 XO laptops, including hardware and support
  
• collaborate with up to 100 other teams as part of a life-long global network empowering a generation
  
• send a representative to MIT/OLPC's all-expense paid summit from 10 - 12 October, 2009.

OLPCorps Africa Members will be active members of the 1-to-1 laptop-learning project and become leaders in the grassroots movement. The OLPC summer grant program begins 8 June. Teams will work closely with the One Laptop per Child team to design and implement XO deployments.

For more information on OLPCorps Africa and specific application requirements, visit http://laptop.org. Proposals must be received by 27 March, 2009.