RIYADH — Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett will be visiting the Middle East once again in December. On Wednesday, in a conference call to Arab News from California, Dr. Barrett stated that during his December trip he will be attending events in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and South Africa.
“While visiting Middle East in December, I’ll participate in activities, such as private meetings, school visits and public events with government, academia and industry to help extend the reach of technology to benefit the region and drive social and economic growth,” said Dr. Barrett.
His Middle East visit is part of the Intel chairman’s current global tour under the theme “Expanding What’s Possible,” an element of Intel’s World Ahead Program. Under the World Ahead initiative, Intel intends to invest more than $1 billion globally over the next five years to accelerate access to computers, the Internet and technology for people in developing communities. Within the scope of that initiative, Dr. Barrett has recently traveled to South America, India and China where he announced plans to provide digital accessibility to some of the world’s most remote communities.
“As part of Intel’s global movement to bring technology to the next billion people, I have recently returned from the Amazon and the Asia/Pacific region where we had some exciting activities that we hope will help ‘bridge the digital divide,’” said Dr. Barrett.
In Brazil, in one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, the Amazon, Intel has worked with local players to create a wireless, high-speed Internet network for residents to access vast resources of medical, educational and commercial knowledge through computers. On the other side of the world, during Dr. Barrett’s trip to rural China last week, Intel announced plans to equip 300 community computing centers and 105 Digital Health Clinics with much needed technology.
“There, Intel is working with Chinese officials to overcome one of the major challenges faced by any government: How to better inform, educate and care for people living in rural areas,” explained Dr. Barrett.
Through its World Ahead Program, Intel hopes to extend access to PCs with high-speed Internet connections to millions of citizens and train 1.7 million teachers in China on the effective use of technology in the classroom. As a result, Intel expects to help more than 100 million students across China by 2011.
India has also benefited from the World Ahead Program. During a visit to Baramati, in India’s Maharashtra state, Intel and government officials dedicated Baramati’s first digital hospital and WiMAX network. Working with the government and other technology companies, Intel set up a state-of-the-art, high-speed Internet network to connect the community computer center and public kiosks, donated PCs to the community and developed a telemedicine program for Baramati’s government hospital.
“The standard use of technology will increase quality of care while lowering health care costs for Baramati Tehsil Hospital patients,” said Dr. Barrett, who also chairs the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development. “With computers, real-time video capabilities and electronic medical records, critically ill patients can be diagnosed by medical specialists hundreds of kilometers away.”
To enable the wireless communications infrastructure at the community computer center and public kiosks, Intel and Indian telecom provider Airtel installed WiMAX technology. WiMAX is a cost-effective and efficient way to deliver broadband Internet access to remote communities. The PCs, donated by Intel to the community computer center and public kiosks, also include ones specifically engineered for extreme environments in India. These “Community PCs” have dust filters, auto-restore and can connect to car batteries for electricity.
“Additionally, to improve rural education, Intel will help the Indian government equip as many as 100 mobile computer labs in vans throughout the area surrounding Pune,” said Dr. Barrett. “These computer labs on wheels are an amazing way to bring technology to the next generation.”
Since 2001, Intel has been working closely with the Ministry of Education to aid development of 21st century skills in Maharashtra, which includes Baramati and Pune. Through the Intel Teach program, local educators are learning how to integrate technology to enhance the classroom learning. So far, more than 40,000 educators have been trained in Maharashtra. Through its World Ahead Program, Intel plans to extend access to PCs with high-speed Internet connections to millions of citizens and train one million teachers in India on the application of technology to improve classroom learning.
Intel also has put forward an objective to donate 10,000 full-function PCs to state governments. The 10,000 donated PCs will be equipped with Internet connectivity, education content supported by the government and software applications provided by Microsoft. The PCs will be used to develop model schools for ICT integration, smart schools and teacher training. As a result, Intel expects to help more than 30 million students across India by 2008.
After outlining his recent activities under the umbrella of the World Ahead Program, Dr. Barrett went on to discuss a number of things that Intel is doing to help rebuild Lebanon, as well as to ensure the nation is poised for growth and success in the future. These include a corporate donation, venture capital funds to stimulate growth and programs for education and to create job opportunities.
“Intel is making a $100,000 donation and matching employee donations to the US Lebanon Partnership Fund, of which I am a founding member. I am also making a personal $100,000 donation to this important effort,” said Dr. Barrett. “The goal of the US-Lebanon Partnership Fund is to aid in the rebuilding efforts in Lebanon. We have begun fundraising and Intel’s donation will help. Ultimately, our hope is that this effort contributes to a longer-term impact in the region. The fund will focus its efforts on health care, education, small business development (job creation) and building out Lebanon’s infrastructure.”
He continued, “In addition, Intel will allocate a sum out of the $50 million META Fund announced last year by Intel, which is aimed at stimulating local innovation and the continued growth of the region’s IT industry. We’re going to take a look at how best to invest this money and will discuss further details during my visit to Lebanon in early December. In order to help boost access to technology in the nation, Intel has also donated $50,000 to help launch the PCA ICT Academy (PICTA), an ICT development project. Fully equipped with technology and expertise donated by Intel and other companies, the staffed technology centers are being opened in seven towns and three additional centers are planned within the next few months.”
Beyond donations, Intel also continues to promote education and economic opportunity in Lebanon. The company launched its Intel Teach program in Lebanon in 2006 and will train more than 10,000 teachers over the next five years. “The bottom line is that Lebanon is a nation of great promise and determination,” said Dr. Barrett. “It’s critical that we take action to help the country get back on its feet.”
