The One Laptop Per Child Foundation

The One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc. or OLPC is a non-profit organisation founded by Nicholas Negroponte. The goal of the foundation is to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves. OLPC is designed the XO laptop as well as associated educational software, manufacturing base, and distribution system to furfill this vision.

An extract from the mission statement :

"To eliminate poverty and create world peace by providing education to the poorest and most remote children on the planet by making them more active in their own learning, through collaborative and creative activities, connected to the Internet with their own laptop, as a human right and cost free to them"

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Visit the One Laptop Per Child Foundations' YouTube Channel

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The Vision

Almost two-billion children in third-world countries receive little or no education. As a result, children are destined to a life of poverty and isolation just like their parents. The effect of this nationally means that an ill-educated population cannot keep up with rapidly changing world economy which in turn worsens the situation.

The amount spent on children in developing countries per pupil can be less than $20 in total per pupil, compared with a whopping $7,500 per pupil per year in the United States. Whilst an increase in funding may be beneficial, it is insufficient in bring learning opportunities to the massive numbers of uneducated children in developing countries.

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Our Vision for One Laptop Per Child is to participate in the "Give 100" scheme where we run fundraising with an aim to bulk buy XO laptops and have them delivered to children via the OLPC.

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Why? Why give a laptop to a child who may have no electricity or even running water? Replace the world 'laptop' with the word 'education' and the answer becomes clear.

It's an education project, not a laptop project

Nicholas Negroponte, Founder and Chairman of the OLPC foundation

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The XO laptop , produced by Quanta is designed to help children learn to learn. It acts as a window into the world in which children can explore, using the internets almost limitless content and natural inquisitiveness to learn as they go.

The OLPC campaign isn’t a technological operation or the XO computer a consumer product. It is non-profit organization that strives to let children tap into their own potential in all corners of the world allowing them to contribute the future world community.

You can donate a laptop through the OLPC foundation, or alternatively take part in the Give One, Get One scheme in which the buyer receives an XO laptop themselves as well as giving one to a child. We'll also give all our commision towards our project to "Give 100" XO laptops

NOTE: This item is due to be released on January 15, 2009

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The XO laptop receives competition from the Classmate PC, a commercial product designed by Intel with the same principals of the XO. It is part of the 'Intel Education Initiative' and 'Intel World Program' which sees $100 million per year invested into teaching and training of students and teachers.

Intel themselves were rejected the OLPC after selecting rival AMD as the chipmaker for the XO laptop. Professor Negroponte accused Intel of trying to drive the OLPC out of business after handing out contents to governments titled; "the shortcomings of the One Laptop per Child approach" and instead pitch the Classmate PC. Microsoft equally have expressed concern over the Linux-based platform on the XO.

"When you have both Intel and Microsoft on your case, you know you're doing something right." - Nicholas Negroponte, Founder of OLPC Foundation

It was announced however in July 2007 that Intel would join the OLPC board, to the delight of Professor Negroponte.

"If you can actually get a Linux-based computer into every kid's hands in the world it obviously undermines Microsoft. And obviously with an AMD chip inside that computer it undermines Intel," - Louis Rossetto, Co-founder of Wired Magazine

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You can visit the 'One Laptop Per Child' organisations' official site here.

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