[OLPC-Oceania] OLPC Oceania & The Bank of the South Pacific -- media release

[Michael Hutak]

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
*
*Bank of South Pacific donates 1000 laptops to Pacific children:
**
*
*Joins regional coalition as OLPC Oceania’s Lead Private Sector Partner*

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, April 30, 2012 – One Laptop per Child
(OLPC) and the Bank of the South Pacific (BSP), the region’s leading bank,
have announced an exciting strategic partnership to advance South Pacific
education, kicking off with a donation of 1000 revolutionary ‘XO’ laptops
to Pacific children.

In its first act in the new role of Lead Private Sector Partner for OLPC
Oceania, BSP will donate the educational computers to children in three
OLPC project schools in the Solomon Islands and Fiji. In coming months, BSP
plans to provide more support for children in Papua New Guinea as it
spearheads private sector support for OLPC.

OLPC’s Regional Director for Oceania, Mr Michael Hutak, thanked BSP for
its generosity and welcomed the new partnership as a breakthrough for
Pacific education. “With BSP’s strong corporate leadership in the Pacific,
its large regional branch network and its strong commitment to community
participation, we look forward to a long and effective partnership, not
just to our ongoing mutual benefit but more importantly to the long-term
advancement of Pacific education.”

BSP Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Ian B Clyne said the new partnership
was a perfect fit with the Bank’s corporate social responsibility goals and
would broaden the reach and impact of the BSP Children’s Foundation,
complementing programs such as BSP’s widely-praised BSP School Kriket
program. The partnership continues BSP’s commitment to Pacific development
and follows a recent Fiji$100,000 donation to emergency relief efforts
following the devastating floods in Fiji.

As Lead Private Sector Partner, BSP will join the regional initiative OLPC
Oceania, which is a coalition of national governments, educators, donor
agencies, academia, the private sector, civil society and community
organizers, all working to assist Pacific Island countries to establish the
OLPC concept in schools. Mr Hutak said BSP will bring much-needed private
sector expertise and know-how to the Pacific initiative.

Currently there are OLPC projects running in 10 Pacific countries, with
approximately 10,000 laptops being used by children in 50 schools. Across
the globe OLPC has distributed more than 2.4 million laptops to poor
children in 40 countries.

   - Find out more at the OLPC Oceania
Blog<http://olpcoceania.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/bank-of-south-pacific-donates-1000.html>
   .
   - For the full Media Release click
here<http://www.box.com/s/c6cb891d73823db08322>
    or go to http://www.box.com/s/c6cb891d73823db08322

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Media Contacts: *

*Michael Hutak, Director, OLPC Oceania*
+61-412-001-052
oceania at laptop.org
http://olpcoceania.blogspot.com

*Jackie Lustig, OLPC Global*
+1-978-460-2236
Jackie.a.lustig at gmail.com
www.laptop.org

*Julie Fraser, Head of Marketing & PR, BSP *
+675 305 7141
jfraser at bsp.com.pg
www.bsp.com.pg

*Barney Pondros, PR & Comms Mgr, *
T: + 675 305 7877,
bpondros at bsp.com.pg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*About OLPC: *One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a global non-profit
organization, dedicated to
creating educational opportunities for the world's poorest children.  OLPC
Oceania is a regional
initiative to provide every child in basic education with a rugged,
low-cost, low-powered,
connected laptop, loaded with Pacific content designed to foster
collaborative, self-empowered
learning. We are seeking to reach over 700,000 children across 22 Pacific
island nations.

*About BSP:* BSP is Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific’s leading bank
with 36 branches
nationwide and 29 offshore branches in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Niue. BSP
boasts the largest
Branch, ATM and EFTPoS network and is leading the way with innovative
banking products such
as Mobile Banking.

-- 
-- 
Michael Hutak
Director, Oceania
One Laptop per Child
www.laptop.org
http://olpcoceania.blogspot.com
--------
Skype: michael.hutak
Cell: +61 412 001 052
Fax: +61 2 8008 1616
Web: www.hutak.com
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