Give 1 Get 1: Join One Laptop Per Child to Help Transform Education and Learning in Developing Countries

For Two Weeks in November for Just US$399, You Can Give and Get the Revolutionary Laptop Computer That Lets Children Explore, Experiment and Express Themselves

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Any nation’s most precious resource is its children. Most of the nearly two billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or in some cases, 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 – never knowing what the light of learning could mean in their lives.

“The magic lies within – within each child, within each scientist-, scholar- or just-plain citizen-in-the-making. This initiative is meant to bring it forth into the light of day.”

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization launched in 2005 by MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte to design, manufacture and distribute laptop computers that are sufficiently affordable to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, is announcing today a unique opportunity for the general public to put an innovative and powerful educational tool into the hands of children in the developing world.

Called “Give 1 Get 1” the two-week program will enable an individual who lives in the USA or Canada to support the OLPC Foundation and its work by paying for two XO children’s laptop computers – one to give, one to get. The laptop you give will go to a child in a developing nation. The laptop you get can be used by you or a deserving child or friend. The Give 1 Get 1 program is designed to promote awareness and understanding of the education value of the XO laptop, to encourage the open-source software community to create education content to support use of the XO laptop by children in the developing world, and, of course, to put more XO laptops into the hands of those children. The two-week, limited-time offer will run from Monday, November 12 through Monday, November 26, 2007.

“Give 1 Get 1 presents a terrific opportunity for the public to help eliminate poverty and make the world a better place by inoculating children against ignorance,” said OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte. “Kids are naturally global and native learners. They need to be excited and empowered by providing tools for thinking, collaboration and expression. Additionally, Give 1 Get 1 is a means to trigger greater interest and commitment from governments of developing nations, as well as those of wealthier ones who wish to help the poorest and most remote children.”

Groups ranging from the United Nations to the NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community (formerly the National Retired Teachers Association) are enthusiastic supporters of OLPC, and many of the world’s leading technology companies are contributing their expertise and resources to the cause. “This is not just a matter of giving a laptop to each child, as if bestowing upon them some magical charm,” said Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of United Nations at the International Telecommunications Union World Summit in Tunis in November, 2005. “The magic lies within – within each child, within each scientist-, scholar- or just-plain citizen-in-the-making. This initiative is meant to bring it forth into the light of day.”

The Revolutionary XO Laptop

The XO laptop, conceived at the Media Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and developed and manufactured by OLPC and its technology partners, has been created specifically for children in developing countries. XO taps into a child’s innate capacities to learn, share and create. It is called “XO” because when you turn the letters counter-clockwise, the XO logo looks like a child.

XO has many features not found in any other laptop, including:

• Rugged design and sealed case to make it water- and shock-resistant
• High-resolution screen that can be read in direct sunlight, as well as indoors in the dark
• Lower power consumption using only 5-10 percent of the average wattage of a normal laptop
• Can be powered by solar energy and human energy with pull cords and hand cranks
• Mesh (peer-to-peer) network that turns each XO into a full-time router connecting each laptop and allowing for easy Internet access
• No moving parts, except for rabbit ears (for the mesh network) and the hinge
• Runs on free, open source software
• Contains no lead, mercury, cadmium or PVC

The XO laptop, a general-purpose device, comes with a built-in video camera, sophisticated sound processing, and software for making music, creating art, playing games, browsing the web, and word processing. The XO can also be used as an e-book reader in both the dark and in bright sunlight.

A September 17, 2007 review of the XO published by Joanna Stern, Staff Writer, of Laptop Magazine concluded, “Its [XO’s] altruistic purpose, along with its blend of convenient collaboration tools, clever hardware, and innovative operating system makes this machine worthy of the global recognition it's receiving. In its own way, the XO is more of a catalyst for technological change than Apple's iPhone.”

Give 1 Get 1 Program Details

Starting on November 12 and for two weeks only, the public will be able to pay US$399 for two XOS, getting and giving one simultaneously. On a first come, first served basis, individuals who participate in the Give 1 Get 1 program will receive their XO laptops by Christmas.

In the meanwhile, effective today, the public can go to http://www.XOgiving.org or call a toll-free number at 1-866-XO-GIVING (1-866-964-4846) to give a laptop, without receiving one. A charitable contribution of $200 will provide a child in a developing country with an XO laptop computer of their own. In addition, visitors to the web site can sign up to be put on an alert list to receive an email reminder on November 12 that Give 1 Get 1 has started.