Ask OLPC a Question about Countries

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Overview

Why some countries and not others?

The reason is quite simple: the OLPC has made an offer (an inexpensive laptop) to national governments (not individuals or NGOs). Countries interested in the offer then decide if the offer is of their liking or not. If it is, negotiations and/or talks can start with the OLPC, and it's only then that they appear on the OLPC radar, and given a color/status depicting the level of commitment or interest.

What if I don't like my country's color?

If your country is color-coded in a hue with which you don't agree, you should lobby that country's government to start talks with the OLPC.

How can a country get involved?

By starting talks with the OLPC at national or ministerial level—minister or similar high-ranking government officials—not at individual level. Individuals should lobby their government to participate. More info.

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Other Questions

Mauritius

Mauritius is the place where I was born and it does not show in your list of countries where you intend to promote your program. Can we be of any help ? We surely would be very glad to especially if we can help the poor kids overhere as well. Looking forward to be hearing from you

Pierre

You can create a page for Mauritius, contact the government there, organize a group to support the laptop there, and other things. I'm ready to help. --Mokurai 05:15, 26 November 2006 (EST)

Libya

I just saw that John Markoff wrote in the New York Times about Libya signing a contract with OLPC. The story says that four other countries have signed up, which was recently denied on this site. The tale gets 42000 hits on Google. So where is the press release? Where is the news story on this site? What actually happened?--Mokurai 02:23, 13 October 2006 (EDT)

Aha! It's not a contract, it's a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). OK. Now, can the rest of us have a look at the plan? It answers a lot of the questions being asked here and elsewhere, according to the description.

"The committee was presented with the outline of a comprehensive plan to distribute the laptops, create connectivity and server infrastructure, and prepare teachers and students."--Mokurai 17:32, 15 October 2006 (EDT)

What plan do you have for teacher training? I have been working in a staff development department of a school system that has been one-to-one for 6 years now. We have found that training teachers to integrate technology is as fundamental to the success of a one-to-one program as the hardware itself. If the Libyan teachers do not have extensive, well-organized training, the students of any program will be shortchanged. Jon Morris jjmorris@henrico.k12.va.us

The plan given to the Libyans addresses this. They seem very interested in the OLPC program. --Mokurai 17:39, 15 October 2006 (EDT)

Timor Leste (East Timor) not involved yet and how to get the process off on the right foot

I am a volunteer IT worker here in Dili. I wish to follow through on getting the Government/Min of Education involved. Is there a set of templates/docs/procedures for me to follow? If so, then I think that they would be very useful for other countries. thanks chris mansonc@usa.net

Thanks for writing in.

Right now I think the whole world knows about the program. You may contact your countries Minster of Education and try to start a dialogue about the service OLPC is offering. If they are interested you may then try with in your country to find big donor corporations that will come up with the funds for your country and you can also contact me on this site to ask more questions in how you can do that. I am sure you speak the native language which would make this much easier that you can also speak English too. This way I can explain this to you as in how to do that.

Thanks, Hunter--Hunter 10:36, 28 December 2006 (EST)

Caribbean Countries

I didn't see any of the Caribbean countries among the OLPC list. I work with a non-profit organization. One of the organization's mandate is to provide affordable computers to every home in the Caribbean. We sent an e-mail to OLPC asking for contact name and e-mail address in OLPC and got a reply from OLPC indicating that only the governments can purchase these laptops. If there is no Caribbean government in the list why not a non-profit organization like ours buy the laptops and distribute them? The reply e-mail also said that there is a staffing limitation. As the non-profit organization, we are saying that we are here to help. We are here to work with you. So please ensure that the bottlenecks are eliminated as they are found.

The list you see is merely the first round. It includes countries that have expressed interest in the program, and have the possibility of coming up with the $200+ million required to order a million units. All other countries will have a chance in the next round, when smaller batches will be offered. --Mokurai 06:59, 21 November 2006 (EST)

Gambia

Can anyone tell me if Gambia is among the countries where the Ministry of Education has expressed an interest in this laptop project? Since it is such a small country (situated along the Gambia river in Senegal), I can't tell from the map.

Gambia is 'orange' (those countries who have expressed interest at the Ministry-of-Education level or higher). BTW, there is a higher-resolution version of the map in the section: #How does the color/status scheme work? that you can click to enlarge. --Walter 11:19, 10 January 2007 (EST)

Developed Nations

Are developed nations really not as interested in this device as it seems? Certainly it would seem that the support of a nation like the USA would be a huge boon to development and production. And distribution issues would seem to be virtually garuanteed. And the benefit to such a country seems to be revolutionary. Are there just too many obstacles?

What is stopping a nation like the USA from having one of these in every child's bookbag in 5 years? Anything besides willpower?