Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to draw the parliament’s attention to the organisation One Laptop per Child. One Laptop per Child is a global organisation that was founded by visionary Nicholas Negroponte. Its vision is to engage children living in remote communities in their own education by providing them with its specially designed laptop, the XO. Today, there are over two million XO laptops in the hands of children around the globe. In less than three years Uruguay has deployed nearly 400,000. One Laptop per Child Australia is the local arm of the organisation and has been operating since 2008. The initiative was formally launched in May of this year.

The XO or, as the children call it, the ‘green machine’ is a rugged, low-cost, low-powered, connected education tool, purpose-built to resist the harsh conditions of the locations it is being deployed to. The XO comes preloaded with over 50 educational applications and with software that allows the devices to connect to one another and to the internet, creating a virtual classroom for collaboration and sharing between the kids. In nine short months, the charity has made remarkable progress and, as the recent release of an interim report by the Australian Council of Educational Research shows, a noteworthy impact on education. In nine short months OLPC Australia deployed 900 XOs to Indigenous children attending 16 different community schools across remote Northern Territory and Western Australia. As well, it received over $2 million in corporate funding and expanded from what was an informal group of like-minded individuals last year to a full-time staff of six employees today. OLPC Australia has been able to achieve all of this because of its unique business model, which ensures that the XO is part of a sustainable solution.

This is being made possible first and foremost by its partners, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and more recently Telstra, which paid for all administration costs—leaving the doors open for day-to-day business. This means that all donations that come into the organisation—be they government or public contributions—go directly to the procurement of XO laptops and put those laptops straight into the hands of children. OLPC Australia deploys laptops based on its six core principles. These principles are as follows. Low ages: the XO is designed for children aged between four and 15 inclusive, as the charity realises that to make the greatest difference to a child’s education trajectory you must engage them in the early years. Saturation: the XO is deployed on the basis of one laptop per child in a class, grade, school or community. Connection: the machines connect to each other and to the internet. I have one with me here today. Free and open source: the XO has been designed to be disassembled and reassembled by children. This opens up possibilities for local industry through the deployment of community support centres. Finally, empowering teachers: OLPC Australia is committed to engaging the teachers as much as students to ensure the ongoing educational benefit.

Today OLPC Australia is collaborating with six universities in the country. The organisation wants to give each child in remote Australia—that is, over 400,000 kids—their own XO laptop, and they need to do it in the next five years in order to create a generational shift in the communities that are involved in the program. While these targets sound ambitious, this is not a pipedream. The Uruguayan case study is proof in point. OLPC Australia needs from us our support. It is a real education solution for our remote children. As members of this parliament, we have a duty, an obligation, to support this organisation. Rangan and Kelly from OLPC made a presentation to a number of colleagues today. I urge all colleagues to embrace and support OLPC into the future. This is business partnering government, with philanthropic and public support, making a difference where it is most needed: at the grassroots of our community.

I also welcome the children from the East Wanneroo Primary School. Our greatest asset is our children. Our greatest gift to them is education.

Question agreed to.