STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — (Marketwire) — 09/20/11 —
One year after its official launch, Connect To Learn announces milestones
in
technology deployments and partnerships for bringing a 21stcentury
education to
students in Africa, South America and in the Caribbean.
In connection with telecommunication operator Bharti Airtel, some 5,000
students
now have access to quality education in three countries in sub-Saharan
Africa:
Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya.
Connect to Learn today announced that wireless operators Entel in Chile and
Lime
in Jamaica are joining, bringing the initiative to South America and the
Caribbean, where hundreds more students will benefit from the program.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, said: “We believe that ICT
can be
a transformative force in bringing access to a quality education to all
communities, even the poorest and most rural, and cloud computing will be a
game
changer.
“The opportunities that mobile broadband technology can provide should be
available to all children across the world. This is what we mean by
-Technology
for Good,-” concluded Vestberg.
Connect To Learn has raised more than USD 1 million to be used for
scholarships
for secondary school students, girls- dormitories and educational resources
in
the Millennium Villages in Africa. A comprehensive scholarship program has
been
developed and initiated in four schools in Ghana and Tanzania.
“Connect to Learn is a thrilling example of how advances in technology and
development strategies can improve education, gender equality, and overall
wellbeing,” said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute
at
Columbia University. “Connect To Learn enables schools in remote rural
villages
as well as urban centers to mobilize the internet to improve education,
connect
children around the world, and inspire today-s youth with opportunities
through
education.
“We put a special emphasis on girls- secondary education, knowing that when
girls are empowered to stay in school and gain 21st century skills, they
not
only improve their own life prospects but those of their families,
communities,
and national economies. I am deeply gratified that Ericsson, Airtel, and
other
leaders in mobile telephony and wireless broadband are taking leadership in
educating today-s young people for the future, and in connecting today-s
youth
around the world via the internet and new information and communications
technologies,” concluded Sachs.
Connect to Learn is a public-private partnership that promotes universal
access
to a quality 21st century education, providing scholarships, especially for
girls, and implementing information and communications technology (ICT)
solutions in schools.
Ericsson is a founding member of Connect to Learn, providing expertise and
innovative mobile broadband solutions in the partnership with Millennium
Promise
and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. One example is PC as a
Service,
which dramatically improves the way that education can be delivered, at a
fraction of traditional computing costs, by using cloud computing.
Notes to editors:
Our multimedia content, including new video material from Chile, is
available at
the broadcast room:
About Connect to Learn
Connect To Learn is a not for profit global education initiative designed
by
Ericsson, Millennium Promise and the Earth Institute as Scientific Advisor,
to
ensure a 21st century secondary education for all – especially for girls –
by
providing scholarships for secondary education, and using ICT to connect
classrooms and improve access to quality educational resources around the
world.
For more information, please visit
About Entel
Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones S.A. is the largest
telecommunications
Company in Chile with Ch$ 1,086,816 million in annual revenues reported in
December 2010. The Company provides mobile and wireline services (including
Data
& IT, Internet, local telephony, call center, long distance and related
services). Entel also has wireline and call center operations in Peru.
Entel is
listed on the Chilean Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago) under
the
ticker symbol ENTEL and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
About Lime
LIME is the Caribbean-s largest telecommunications company with a proud
history
in the region, and which is always working to improve life in the
Caribbean.
LIME delivers the very best communication services to governments,
businesses
and families in 13 Caribbean countries with one unifying promise –
building,
connecting and serving communities. LIME is part of Cable & Wireless
Communications PLC, one of the world-s leading communications companies.
Visit
to learn more.
About Bahrti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with
operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers
mobile
voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey
telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long
distance
services to carriers. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best
performing technology companies in the world by BusinessWeek. Bharti Airtel
had
over 228 million customers across its operations at the end of June 2011.
To
know more please visit,
Ericsson is the world-s leading provider of technology and services to
telecom
operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and
provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the
leading position in managed services. The company-s portfolio comprises
mobile
and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and
multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The
Sony
Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich
personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-
communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable
business
solutions. Working in 180 countries, more than 90,000 employees generated
revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876
with
the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX,
Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
Connect To Learn makes one year of progress (pdf):
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ericsson via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1548288]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Corporate Public & Media Relations
Phone: +46 10 719 69 92
E-mail:media.relations@ericsson.com
Ericsson Investor Relations
Phone: +46 10 719 00 00
E-mail:investor.relations@ericsson.com
You must be logged in to post a comment Login