In an endeavor to bridge the digital divide in celebrating the Day of the African Child, Huawei today announced participation in several initiatives to support South African youth in ICT.
In one project the company will equip cyber labs in three schools to support an initiative by the Department of Communication focusing on schools, and communities’ connection through Sponsoring schools in Eastern Cape, & Limpopo.
The cyber lab equipment to be provided per school include 30 Huawei media pads (10 inches), three Huawei 3G routers, a server, a Huawei 3G data card, and a 3G SIM data bundle card valid for one year.
In another similar initiative, Huawei has partnered with Neotel, in the Ignite IT-an innovative competition aimed at stimulating interest amongst girls in ICT careers.
Huawei will award the winning with prizes valued at over R200 000 which will comprise of an ICT laboratory and e-class solutions which will include, interactive boards, projectors, LCD screens, routers and other related equipment. The two initiatives come two months after Huawei in partnership with Khulisani donated a mobile ICT lab to disabled students.
Wilson Liu, CEO of Huawei Technologies in South Africa commented on the initiatives saying, “Our commitment as a global ICT leader to continue cooperating with our local partners to support connectivity is now more than even unwavering with the advancement of the broadband agenda by the South African government.”
Mr. Liu added that, “At the 21st century, every school, and every scholar in South Africa has a right to be connected, as the country is an ICT hub in the region. This can only be made possible through strategic partnerships between both private and public sectors in the country.”
Connecting all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions to ICTs by 2015 was one of the targets set by world leaders at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). ITU has advanced this agenda through Connect a School, Connect a Community is a public-private partnership launched to promote broadband Internet connectivity for schools in developing countries around the world. The rationale of this initiative is that connected schools can serve as community ICT centres for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including women and girls.
Staff writer
