UN body backs $100 laptop for world’s kids


I recently wrote about Nicholas Negroponte and what he’s trying to do with the $100 dollar laptop initiative.

Well, there is an update about it coming out of the Annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos–

Reuters reports that the UN body is backing the project:

The United Nations has thrown its weight behind a project to place a $100, hand-cranked laptop computer in the hands of millions of schoolchildren around the globe.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will sign a partnership agreement with the head of the project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Nicholas Negroponte, in the Alpine ski resort of Davos on Saturday, officials said.

This is a great win for Negroponte and its wonderful to see projects that aim to close the digital divide gain traction at such an international level.

  • Negroponte Steps Down From MIT Media Lab to Pursue $100 Laptop Initiative
  • Intel Has Its Owns Plans To Close the Digital Divide
  • Hal Varian Plugs the $100 Laptop In The NY Times
  • 2 Responses to “UN body backs $100 laptop for world’s kids”

    1. Social ROI » Blog Archive » Technology Review Defends the $100 Laptop Says:

      [...] Last week in Davos, Microsoft’s Craig Mundie commented that using cell phones might be a more sustainable approach than the development and deployment of the $100 laptop project for solving the digital divide problem . [...]

    2. Social ROI » Blog Archive » Negroponte Steps Down From MIT Media Lab to Pursue $100 Laptop Initiative Says:

      [...] UN body backs $100 laptop for world’s kids [...]

    Leave a Reply