OLPC Germany

Introduction

Germany is a country located in Western Europe with a population 82 million people. The official language is German, however, there are parts in which other languages are spoken (Danish, Sorbic, Platt). As a result of immigration, languages such as Turkish, Arabic, Italian etc are spoken by parts of its population.

The GDP per capita is around $30.000. Over 99% of those of age 15 and above are estimated to be able to read and write. In 2004, 4.435 million people in Germany were under the age of 6, 7.489 million between 6 and 15. By OECD standards, 13.5 per cent of the populsation has to be considered poor. Germany is on place 20 of the Human Development Index.

All these things considered, Germany is not a candidate for the first round of OLPC distribution to children. See the OLPC FAQ for details.

However, people living in Germany can take part in this project by almost every thinkable mean. This includes software and hardware development (especially ebook reader), creating content, promotion etc.

Getting involved

• Translation of the laptop.org web site into German

Press

Press coverage about the OLPC has been on a regular basis, especially during the WSIS in Tunis in 2005.

• March 17, 2006 Frankfurter Rundschau: Billig-Rechner für die Dritte Welt / Laptop für 100 Dollar soll in Entwicklungsländern zum Einsatz kommen / Zahlreiche technische Finessen by Thorsten Kleinz
• March 16, 2006 Spiegel Online: Gates verhöhnt Rechner für arme Kinder by Christian Stöcker
• January 25, 2006 HandelsZeitung: Brücke über den digitalen Graben by Matthias Niklowitz
• November 18, 2005 Hamburger Abendblatt: 100-Dollar-Laptop für die Dritte Welt
• November 17, 2005 Spiegel Online: Hightech mit Handkurbel by Frank Patalong
• November 17, 2005 Deutsche Presseagentur: Billig-Laptop soll digitale Kluft überwinden helfen - 100 Dollar by Renate Grimming
• October 8, 2005 General-Anzeiger (Bonn): Kurbel-Notebook für die Dritte Welt / HARDWARE: Unternehmen MIT Media Lab will Billig-Laptop für Schüler in Entwicklungsländern anbieten. Preis soll bei etwa 100 Dollar liegen by Axel Vogel