World Computer Exchange

Bridging the Global Digital Divide for Youth

 

Press Release

 

Computers for Nigeria Leaving Stockholm

Computers for Cameroon Schools Arrive from Boston

 

For Further Information Contact:

 

Raul Zambrano, Senior ICT for Development Policy Advisor, Bureau for Development Policy at UNDP, raul@sdnp.undp.org

John Haederle, Vice President, Citizens International, jhaederle@citizensintl.com

Dr. Wawa Ngenge, President, SDNP SchoolNet Cameroon, wangenge@schoolnetcameroon.org

Johan Holmberg, WCE Sweden Director, Jholmberg@WorldComputerExchange.org

Timothy Anderson, WCE President, TAnderson@WorldComputerExchange.org

 

(Hull, Massachusetts 25 August 2002) World Computer Exchange (WCE) completed packing its thirteenth shipment of computers today as a container carrying 400 Pentium computers and monitors, 50 printers, and a variety of networking equipment was shipped today to Nigeria’s Bauchi state to connect to the Internet: 20 secondary schools with 10,000 students, the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Federal University of Technology, and a training centre.  This is the second WCE computer shipment to Nigeria via the New Nigeria Foundation and Citizens International. 

 

" The digital divide is one of the most popular topics at meetings of the international development community,” said J. Brian Atwood, former President of Citizens International (the shipment co-sponsor) who was Administrator of USAID for seven years under President Clinton and now is the new Dean of the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. “The World Computer Exchange is one of the few organisations that actually does something about the problem. This effective non-profit group has sent thousands of donated computers to the developing world. It is helping to equip and train the people who will soon narrow the digital divide,”

 

This is the first shipment by WCE from its new office and testing and storage facility in Uppsala, the fourth largest city in Sweden.  WCE’s Sweden Director is Johan Holmberg who has already gathered over 1,000 computers from companies in Sweden. Volunteers from thirteen countries helped in the gathering, testing, repairing, recording of serial numbers, wrapping, and packing the computers that were donated by individuals and companies in Sweden.

 

Last month, the WCE Sweden Steering Committee held their first meeting with the WCE president Timothy Anderson and new director of operations, Pamela Cooney in Stockholm.  The discussions focused on ways of getting more companies to donate, to get shippers to reduce costs, the testing of all donated computers, and having WCE volunteers who are IT professionals visit the local sites like the one in Nigeria to provide training and trouble-shooting help after the arrival of the computers.  An alliance was also developed with a technology group in Oslo to work with WCE’s Sweden office to gather, test, and ship computers from Norway.

 

Also today, a WCE container of 400 Pentium computers from its Boston office arrived in Douala, Cameroon on its way to Yaounde.  This is WCE’s twelfth shipment and its second shipment to SDNP SchoolNet Cameroon and is to connect 35 local schools with 15,000 students. The Sustainable Development Networking Programme of the UN Development Programme was the first strategic ally of WCE and has helped build the infrastructure in and assist with WCE shipments to connect schools in Bangladesh, Benin, and Cameroon.  WCE has 24 strategic allies helping WCE’s 89 partner organisations with consulting, content, sister-schools, teacher training, and other services.

 

"The work of WCE has been invaluable for developing countries willing to harness the digital opportunities emerging from the nascent global networked economy. “ said Raśl Zambrano, Senior ICT for Development Policy Advisor, Bureau for Development Policy at UNDP.  “In the past two years, our initiative, the Sustainable Development Networking Programme, which we launched in 1993, has been a close partner of WCE and helped identify key local partners and stakeholders, and finance the actual shipment of computers to Cameroon, Bangladesh, and Benin. We look forward to continue our partnership with WCE to find innovative ways to address the digital divide with action oriented interventions."     

 

In New Haven, WCE is co-sponsoring its second public computer-donating event in celebration of Gandhi Day on October 5th.  Computers donated that day will be tested and packed for shipment to the Self Employed Women’s Association in Gujarat, India.

 

WCE has offices in Boston, New Haven, San Francisco, and Stockholm, Sydney, and Washington DC and representatives gathering computers in Albuquerque, Johannesburg, New York, Oslo, Seattle, Stuttgart, Syracuse, Tokyo, and Tulsa.  WCE is now working to establish additional offices to help meet the growing global demand for used working computers, volunteers, and sister-schools to connect thousands of schools in developing countries.

 

For more information on World Computer Exchange, please visit:  http://www.WorldComputerExchange.org.

 

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936 Nantasket Avenue, Hull, Massachusetts  02045, USA t + 781-925-3078

Email: TAnderson@WorldComputerExchange.org  t  Website: www.WorldComputerExchange.org

Offices in Boston, New Haven, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney (in formation) & Washington

Reps gathering computers in Albuquerque, Johannesburg, New York, Oslo, Seattle, Stuttgart, Syracuse, Tokyo & Tulsa