Help the poorest children into the digital world
The SWIFT community supports One Laptop per Child
Published on 19 December 2007
At Sibos in October, we learned about the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative during a special session on the future of computing and telecommunications. 
Founder Nicholas Negroponte shared his vision of getting an affordable laptop – the XO laptop – to every child in the world, no matter where they live or how poor they are. "When school may not even exist or is under a tree, a connected laptop is pretty good," says Negroponte. By producing the XO laptop cheaply it can be given away.” His vision struck a chord with the Sibos audience.
In December the SWIFT Board decided to put its global community behind the initiative through a combination of direct and matched financial contributions.
What are we doing?
In 2007, the Board authorised a contribution of EUR 3 million for the purchase of laptops on behalf of the SWIFT community."Information technology is essential to economic development, but there is a growing digital divide between nations"
In 2008, we will engage the SWIFT community more directly and have allocated EUR 1 million to complement their contributions. All contributions for whatever amount will be most welcome. SWIFT will consolidate the contributions and work with the OLPC foundation to select the recipient countries, monitor the delivery of the computers and report back to the donor nations. “Information technology is essential to economic development, but there is a growing digital divide between nations,” says Lázaro Campos, CEO SWIFT. “SWIFT’s Board is convinced that the OLPC initiative and its child-friendly laptop can help bridge that divide. We are encouraging the entire SWIFT community, including SWIFT employees, to make a real difference to the lives of many disadvantaged youngsters.”
Details on how to make contributions to the 2008 programme will be finalised early in 2008 and will then be sent to National Member Groups. They will also be posted on swift.com and on swiftcommunity.net.
We know we can count on your generosity.
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organisation set up to provide the world's poorest children with simple, durable educational computers.
OLPC’s mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. By giving children their very own connected XO laptop, we are giving them a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future. And we’re also helping these countries develop an essential resource—educated, empowered children.
To accomplish his vision of distributing millions of educational laptops to kids in poor nations, Negroponte’s non-profit organisation has developed the XO, a solar or electrically powered, wireless Internet-ready computer designed to withstand conditions typical of developing countries.
Children in Reaksmy, Cambodia discover the XO. SWIFT member countries can purchase these green and white laptops and donate them to Negroponte’s foundation, which will deliver them to children in poor countries.
The XO breaks new ground in many ways. Its wireless range is longer than an average laptop and the display switches from colour to black-and-white for viewing in direct sunlight. It requires only 2 watts of power compared with a typical laptop's 30 watts and uses flash memory. It has four USB ports to add devices.
OLPC’s mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. By giving children their very own connected XO laptop, we are giving them a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future. And we’re also helping these countries develop an essential resource—educated, empowered children.
To accomplish his vision of distributing millions of educational laptops to kids in poor nations, Negroponte’s non-profit organisation has developed the XO, a solar or electrically powered, wireless Internet-ready computer designed to withstand conditions typical of developing countries.
Children in Reaksmy, Cambodia discover the XO. SWIFT member countries can purchase these green and white laptops and donate them to Negroponte’s foundation, which will deliver them to children in poor countries.
The XO breaks new ground in many ways. Its wireless range is longer than an average laptop and the display switches from colour to black-and-white for viewing in direct sunlight. It requires only 2 watts of power compared with a typical laptop's 30 watts and uses flash memory. It has four USB ports to add devices.