World Computer Exchange

Bridging the Global Digital Divide for Youth

Summary

WCE is dedicated to helping the world's poorest youth bridge the disturbing global divides in information, technology and understanding. WCE does this by keeping donated computers out of landfills and giving them new life connecting youth in developing countries to the Internet. The computers and networking gear connect schools in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to tech-savvy sister-schools for cultural exchanges to deepen understanding of technology and of their cultures and histories. WCE provides professional development consulting to nonprofit and government partners to develop sustainable plans to network, maintain, and connect these computers. WCE leverages the resources of businesses, strategic allies, volunteers, and youth community service programs to provide its partners with the equipment, software, consulting, sister-schools, and content that they need. WCE helps them succeed in preparing their schools, teachers, and students to use the Internet as a bridge to information, resources, educational materials, and opportunities.

"The work of WCE has been invaluable for developing countries willing to harness the digital opportunities emerging from the nascent global networked economy. In the past few months, our initiative, the Sustainable Development Networking Programmes, which we launched in 1993, has been a close partner of WCE and helped identify key local partners and stakeholders, and finance the actual shipment of computers to Cameroon and Benin. We look forward to continue our partnership with WCE to find innovative ways to address the digital divide with action oriented interventions."

– Raúl Zambrano
Senior ICT for Development Policy Advisor
Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP

WCE Services:

Consulting in information technology, planning, and sustainability to strengthen local partner organisations
Computers donated by companies and individuals in industrialised countries delivered at the lowest cost
Cultural Exchanges between schools in developing countries and community service programmes in high schools and universities in industrialised countries

"The digital divide is one of the most popular topics at meetings of the international development community. The World Computer Exchange is one of the few organisations that actually does something about the problem. This effective non-profit group has sent thousands of donated computers to the developing world. It is helping to equip and train the people who will soon narrow the digital divide."

– J. Brian Atwood
President, Citizens International
WEC International Advisory Council

WCE Business Model

WCE seeks to continually improve so that it can more rapidly grow to scale at the lowest possible cost. WCE does this by (1) working through lead partners with sustainable implementation plans, (2) opening regional offices in industrialised countries to leverage the donated resources of businesses, strategic allies, adult volunteers, and students in community service programs, and (3) building a reputation among donors for providing working donated equipment at the lowest cost ($45 plus shipping per basic computer set). WCE is a nonprofit organisation that strives to operate in ways that strengthen civil society and are respectful and transparent and to experiment with optimising the potentials of an organisation that is as "virtual" as possible through www.WorldComputerExchange.org

"It has been very interesting to watch the quick development of World Computer Exchange. They have been effective at improving the image of used computers in many of the countries of Africa. The consulting process and the 25 questions that WCE asks their partners to think about are very helpful in training NGOs in sustainable IT evelopment."

– Lane Smith
Coordinator
USAID Leland Initiative

About WCE

1,540 computers shipped in six-month period to Benin, Cameroon, India, Nepal & Nigeria
42 agreements signed with partners based on sustainable implementation plans
908 schools with 336,000 students recruited in 25 developing countries
22 strategic allies recruited to provide a rich variety of services to our partners
85 WCE volunteers in 22 developed countries consulting with our partner organisations
Regional offices in Boston, San Francisco, and Stockholm
Representatives gathering computers in Bangkok, New Haven, Sydney, Tokyo & Washington DC
UN pays for WCE shipping to some "sustainable development" countries
A core institutional resource partner in USAID's dot-EDU initiative lead by EDC
World Economic Forum honored WCE as one of 6 global educational IT models
Co-leading World Economic Forum pilot ICT initiatives in Ghana, Mexico & Vietnam