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Digital Inclusion, PCs, Recycling, Africa: Digital Pipeline, a British registered charity founded by Microsoft, aims to foster digital inclusion for disadvantaged communities. With over 31million PCs per year ending up in landfill, Digital Pipeline is calling for organisations to donate computers they are no longer able to use, so they can be refurbished and redeployed to underprivileged schools and community groups across Africa.
 Image: Digital Pipeline Statistics show that less than one in 250 decommissioned computers are currently made available for disadvantaged communities. Digital Pipeline has created a federation of certified organisations who work together from the moment an initial donation is agreed, to PC collection, secure wiping of data, testing and refurbishment, shipping to overseas destinations and installation in schools. Working through local public-private partnerships, it includes additional services such as teacher training and technical support. When PCs reach end-of-life, Digital Pipeline agents facilitate collection and responsible recycling, with 90 percent of materials recycled.
By donating PCs that have reached the end of their useful business life, companies across the UK can help ensure disadvantaged communities have the necessary access to technology to further educate children and enable them to participate in the information society. Evidence shows that for every PC donated through redeployment programmes 25 children become "digitally included" . With this sort of multiplier effect, PCs donated through Digital Pipeline can really make a difference to the learning, employability and life chances of young people in Africa.
Through Digital Pipeline’s work, more than 10,000 students benefit from weekly access to ICT to improve their education, health and future employment prospects. A single shipment of 400 PCs provides 20 African schools with ICT facilities.
Importantly, for every computer Digital Pipeline provides to Africa, it uniquely ensures that one computer is collected and recycled responsibly at the end of its ‘second life’. This means that donated computers are not ‘dumped’ abroad, but are in fact recycled in an ethical fashion that complies with the European Commission’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which came into force on 1 July 2007.
"Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that ICT must figure prominently in achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people in extreme poverty by 2015," says Mark East, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Digital Pipeline and Senior Director, Education Solutions Group, Microsoft Europe, Middle East & Africa, "Digital Pipeline’s goal is to help UK companies contribute by donating PCs to African schools. We’re trying to show UK businesses that they can make a real difference to the lives of people living in poverty by simply making better decisions when it comes to IT equipment that is being replaced."
The largest, single source donation to date has been 30,000 PCs from EDS. The PCs, which have been in use at EDS clients in the commercial and public sector will be refurbished and redeployed to a number of African countries with the first shipment due to reach Kenya in July 2007.
"We strongly support Digital Pipeline’s agenda and have chosen to donate 30,000 PCs from across our commercial and public sector client base as it is a way for us to give something significant back to the wider community", says Kevin Torgerson, Vice President of EDS. "We can also be confident that Digital Pipeline is providing all of the necessary controls, so that PCs can be disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way – a key consideration for EDS."
"SchoolNet Africa is campaigning for an additional one million PCs to be provided for African schools. Digital Pipeline strongly supports this ambition as we believe it will help underprivileged communities to develop a better education infrastructure and to develop key skills to improve employability prospects," says Wim Blonk, Trustee, Digital Pipeline. "One of the charity’s primary goals was to ensure that a process was put in place that would enable technology to reach schools in the places that need it most such as Africa. The feedback we are receiving from Education Ministers in countries receiving these PCs is that the charity is now doing just that and we have received requests and ministerial support from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Madagascar and Zambia."
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Date: 2 - 5 September 2008