On July 12 2008, Close the Gap International and its partners Deloitte Belgium and e-Learning for Kids were featured on CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia and CNBC World in the sixth episode of Responsible Business featuring the topic The digital divide: Closing the Gap.
The episode focused on the strategic partnership between the three organisations and how they joined hands in order to make a real difference in bridging the educational digital divide by providing computers loaded with educational software to a school located in a remote area in Thailand. With each organisation playing a key role in this project, involving computer hardware, educational software and making the computers ready for re-use, they showed that the sum of this partnership adds up more than its individual parts.
In Thailand millions of children never get a chance to see the inside of a classroom. Combined with the poor quality of education provided, resulting from overcrowded classrooms to insufficient trained and untrained teachers, this causes a high dropout. Due to this fact a load of children leave school at an early age to become a maid, a factory worker or what is worse, they end up in the prostitution.
Therefore the partnership between Deloitte, e-Learning for Kids and Close the Gap offers a unique solution to bring about a true change to the lives of these children. By providing the Prasat Thanong School with decent tools and infrastructure, i.e. classrooms and computers preloaded with educational software, over 500 children from 12 neighbouring villages get the chance to receive a decent local education and improve their lives and future development. Thanks to the e-Learning for Kids software these children can now counter the poor quality of the education, learn at their own pace and work towards the realisation of their dreams.
Author: dvandeneynde
Keywords: cnbc close the gap desmond tutu digital divide thailand responsible business television csr corporate social responsibility enterpreneurship
Added: December 31, 2008
