Tag: png

Awesome interview about OLPC in the Pacific

A fantastic two part interview with Ian Thomson (works for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, and is in charge of the OLPC deployments in the Pacific) and Michael Hutak (OLPC Director, Oceania). OLPC Friends supports all the awesome work happening in the Pacific and hopes to be able to assist with knowledge, volunteers, support and more.

They talk about what is happening in the various countries, and the challenges of meeting the needs of the Pacific, specifically PNG where the country has committed to every child receiving an OLPC. Awesome work Michael and Ian!

And another Sydney-based champion is Pia Waugh, an expert on open source who has just launched a local organisation called OLPC Friends which is focussing on community development in the region and building a community of practice for tech developers, users, and teachers

I think this describes OLPC Friends quite nicely. Thanks Ian and Michael!

Volunteers needed for OLPC projects in PNG – February 2009

This is a general call for anyone interested in volunteering to help with OLPC deployments to remote areas in PNG (Papua New Guinea). There is a lot of information on the progress of trials throughout the Pacific including PNG here. Flights and accommodation are intended on being provided and volunteers should be prepared to work hard and also have an amazing experience! I personally volunteered for a week in Niue (Pacific) and had an incredible time that was also really satisfying to help all the children there.

You would be working with David Leeming and Ian Thomson from SPC, who are wonderful, and they have a lot of experience rolling out OLPC throughout the Pacific in line with the cultural, education and other needs of the communities there.

To volunteer, please sign up on the OLPC Friends Volunteer WIKI page, where David and Ian will be looking for people.

You can also get more OLPC related resources including forums and mailing lists from the OLPC Friends website. Remember, it is a growing community driven organisation, so put your boots on and help out 🙂