E-Waste a Global Concern

Manufacturers and governments need to tackle the growing incidence of electronic goods dumping — E-waste — before the problem escalates to uncontrollable levels, according to Stephane Rejasse, GM, Middle East, Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC). In a bid to raise awareness about the problem, Rejasse highlighted that E-waste currently makes up five percent of all municipal solid waste worldwide and is expected to generate between 20 and 50 million tons of waste a year.

“The reduction of E-waste should be a serious priority for IT manufacturers and vendors globally to ensure the sustainable protection of the environment. E-waste is an issue that needs to be addressed and manufacturers have a social responsibility to produce ecofriendly products,” said Rejasse. “Waste from electronic goods is now the fastest growing component of the municipal solid waste stream and is set to further rise as developing countries are expected to triple their E-waste production over the next five years. Toxic chemicals in electronic products can leak into the land over time or are released into the atmosphere, impacting nearby communities and the environment. We must address this concern immediately and put procedures in place to prevent further contamination.”

FSC is at the forefront of environmentally-friendly technology and has been working in the field for over 20 years. The company’s recent product line, ESPRIMO, is the world’s first complete range of ecofriendly PCs. Produced in Germany, ESPRIMO is the first-of-its-kind in the region and offers a complete ergonomic solution to increasing worldwide environmental legislation. FSC has minimized the lead content in ESPRIMO mainboards from 12 grams to one and completely restricted the use of halogen gas. In addition, the printed circuit boards, as well as power supply and riser card, are halogen-free. Ergonomics have also been enhanced, with all ESPRIMO PCs being equipped with an advanced cooling concept, making them even quieter to provide an optimal working environment.

Rejasse believes that the launch of these PCs into the Middle East is a step in the right direction for the region but more awareness need to be created in regards to the recycling of E-waste and legislation should be adopted to protect both consumers and the local environment.

SEGA to Create Beijing Olympics Videogame

SEGA Corporation has announced a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), exclusive licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to become the publisher of the official videogame of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. This agreement will allow SEGA to publish a range of interactive entertainment software titles based on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

As part of the worldwide partnership that will conclude in 2009, SEGA secures the exclusive rights to publish console, PC/Macintosh, arcade and handheld games worldwide. In addition, SEGA will publish mobile phone games in Asian markets.

The official videogame of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will include a wide variety of featured sports, such as aquatics (diving and swimming), archery, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoe/kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football (soccer), gymnastics, handball, field hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

Nortel Joins ‘One Laptop Per Child’ Initiative

Nortel has joined the “One Laptop per Child” (OLPC) initiative. OLPC, a nonprofit organization, was formed earlier this year by Nicholas Negroponte and other faculty members from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. OLPC aims to put technology in the hands of children at affordable costs, helping to bridge the “digital divide” and is in talks with the Egyptian government intended to extend the initiative there.

“We’re hoping that we can play a very real role in extending this initiative to the Middle East, initially through Egypt,” said Nortel Middle East VP Ramin Attari. “We think it is potentially an important step forward, one of many, in addressing the need to build our connected communities throughout the region.”

“The goal of OLPC is to actively engage children in their own education. The $100 laptop will belong to each child and be part of his or her life, in and out of school, for study and for play. By providing Internet access and tools to think with, a child has the opportunity to learn about learning itself. By virtue of all children in a school having their own laptops, a connected community emerges,” said Negroponte, who serves as chairman of OLPC.

The objective of OLPC is to develop a fully functioning, connected laptop to give the largest number of the world’s children — especially those in developing nations — an innovative learning tool for independent interaction, revolutionizing information delivery to schoolchildren globally. The OLPC laptop, currently in the early stages of development, is designed to be the size of a standard school notebook and will use wireless networking capabilities to allow children to interact with each other and access the Internet and community resources. It is expected to leverage built-in wireless capabilities that support WiFi and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and be used as a conventional computer, electronic book, handheld game console and even function as a TV.

OLPC stated that government agencies in Argentina, Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, China, Egypt and India are in preliminary discussions with OLPC to distribute the $100 laptops through pilot programs in each of these countries. Over one billion people globally are still without access to basic telecom services and 800,000 communities have no connection to global voice or data networks, according to statistics from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Increasing numbers of computers in developing nations should help to create a demand for telecom and data services, hopefully leading to improve communication services globally.

WEF AnnouncesTech Pioneers

The World Economic Forum has announced 36 Technology Pioneers for 2006. Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health and information technology. This year’s class of companies has been selected not only because of the cutting-edge work undertaken by the organizations, but also because their work has potential long-term impact on business and society.

In line with the forum’s commitment to improving the state of the world, the Technology Pioneers program was established in 2000 to provide a new perspective on technological change. Through its Technology Pioneers program, the forum identifies and integrates those companies around the world that are involved in the design and development of new technologies. Each innovation, whether it has large or small consequences, is another step in society’s attempt to harness, adapt and utilize technology to change and improve our world. The World Economic Forum is invested in monitoring and highlighting these innovations and exploring possible societal repercussions.

For more information on the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers and the 36 nominees go to www.weforum.org/techpioneers.