ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD
Most of the nearly two–billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or receive no education at all. One in three does not complete the fifth grade.
The individual and societal consequences of this chronic global crisis are profound. Children are consigned to poverty and isolation—just like their parents—never knowing what the light of learning could mean in their lives. At the same time, their governments struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving, global information economy, hobbled by a vast and increasingly urban underclass that cannot support itself, much less contribute to the commonweal, because it lacks the tools to do so.
OCT 6 - Rwanda officially launched of their laptop initiative last week. President Paul Kagame presided over the ceremony in conjunction with Education Minister Théoneste Mutsindashyaka. The event was attended by the Rwandan prime minister, the supreme court’s chief justice, the entire cabinet, and leaders from civil society and the NGO community. Five hundred students and their teachers from the first laptop schools also were on hand. President Kagame, Minister Mutsindashyaka, Nicholas and David Cavallo spoke to the gathering. Kagame committed his office to bringing laptops to every primary school child in the country.
A highlight for the children came when they lifted their XOs to take pictures of the president and discovered that they could also frame themselves into the shots, so that they would appear in the picture with Kagame. Afterward, the Rwandan core team, along with Juliano Bittencourt, Brian Jordan and David, led a workshop. The students developed projects depicting their own visions for What Rwanda will be like in the year 2020. For the most part, they programmed in scratch, using images they photographed, downloaded or drew. The adults were amazed by the kids’ visions, and by how much they were able to construct in a very short period of time. The president’s science and technology advisor was bowled over by their prowess, imagination, and strong optimism for the future, including their own roles in it.
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