At least 1,007,000 XO laptops have been ordered by no less than 23 countries under the One Laptop Per Child program. That number sounds like a lot, but it’s not enough.
Chaired by computer scientist Nicholas Negroponte, the (It’s not an laptop project. It’s an education) project evolved through research that started in January 2005 at the MIT Media lab to develop a $100 laptop that could work under common conditions in developing countries (limited access to power sources, sunlight readability, no easy internet access, etc.).
The idea is that the widespread distribution of a single, affordable computer will give 6 to 12-year-olds in the developing world access to a powerful educational tool and shrink the digital divide. But in order to substantially educate children in “places you’ve never heard – in countries you cannot pronounce,” we need to be sending a helluva lot more laptops.
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In order to help, OLPC and Daily Motion have teamed up to promote the second annual Give One Get One campaign.
Benevolent individuals can purchase an XO laptop for a child in need for $199 or give one and get one for him/herself for $399 (last year some 83,500 donors participated). To spread the word, Daily Motion is hosting a contest for users to create their own commercial for the charity drive.
Entries should promote Give One Get One, be 30 or 60-seconds long, include kids or be kid friendly, and are due by December 15, 2008. The winning submission will air as a commercial spot on National TV during the holiday season. For more info, check out Daily Motion and laptop.org.
