The World Bank today donated 100 computers to the Ugandan Ministry of Education at the Mengo Secondary School in Kampala, Uganda. As part of this program, the World Bank has donated refurbished computers to WorLD schools. At the event, Sun Microsystems also donated 10 servers to the Ugandan Ministry of Education for use in the WorLD program. Sun Microsystems has agreed to donate 80 Sun Sparc servers to the Ministries of Education participating in the WorLD Program, for allocation to WorLD schools. Uganda was the first pilot country for the WorLD program, and three schools were initially connected to the internet.
Students receive two weeks of intensive, full-time training for schools teachers, and students.
Schools will then be paired up with schools around the world for collaborative learning and research. Over a four year period, 1997-2000, WorLD will link at least 1,500 secondary schools in 40 developing countries with partner schools throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Five more African countries will be added to the Program next year. The WorLD program s objectives are to improve educational opportunities for students in both developing and industrialized countries, build the capacity of developing countries to use information technology for economic and social development, and facilitate cultural understanding among youth around the world. Teachers and students participating in the WorLD program are exposed to the vast quantity of educational resources on the internet and accompanying CD-ROMs.