A Northern Territory Island community will be the first in the country to benefit from the One Laptop Per Child (OPLC) program.

Now a well-known global initiative, the program aims to give children in developing countries. The students of Shepherdson College on Elcho Island will receive the free ‘XO’ computers designed by Yves Behar.

Designed to withstand harsh conditions the XO laptops feature a distinctive visual appearance (to discourage ‘grey-market traffic) a specially designed user-interface and built-in wireless router capabilities to enable children to connect with teachers and families via the internet.

Other schools that will receive machines include the Rawa Community School in Western Australia and Newcastle Waters in the Northern Territory.

The Australian director of the One Laptop Per Child initiative, Rnagan Srikhanta says: “The program will enable the children to share information on their way of life with the rest of the world and enrich their own lives with what they learn from others.”

The OPLC program aims to deliver another 5,000 ‘XO’ laptops, ultimately hoping to distribute 400,000 to all primary school-aged children in remote Australia.

“Today marks the beginning of a comprehensive, carefully designed education program which we will next take to Queensland and other schools in the Northern Territory,” Srikhanta says.

One Laptop Per Child
olpc.org.au