Change Is In the Air
December, 2006
By Dan Shine, 50x15 Program Director

Change is in the air. Can you feel it?

As 2006 draws to a close, there is no question: Change is happening. Change for the better. A movement from conversation to strategy, strategy to action, and action to results.

Around the globe, significantly more people are connected to the world than just a year ago. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) device is rolling off the production line, and will represent the “ultimate” Learning Lab as it makes its way into children’s hands early next year. Terrific new solutions are appearing on multiple continents, and even more are being developed for the “Connecting the World” Design Contest held this month in Latin America. More importantly, solutions deployed a year ago are still working and still relevant. The momentum is building: government leaders, NGOs and foundations are seeing the progress, and have visibly shifted their activities to harness technology as never before.

As a sponsor of the recent World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit, we watched as Sonia Gandhi presented the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year award to Vikram Akula from SKS, a leader in microfinance. Vikram has provided loans to over 300,000 women (and their families) who would not otherwise qualify for financing. The scale of SKS’ vision was made possible through the power of the Internet. Moreover, SKS beneficiaries have taken the first steps to becoming self sufficient, stable members of their communities. With stability comes opportunity, and the need to communicate and learn. Change can’t come fast enough for them!

2007 will be an extraordinary year of change for many reasons. The focus on eliminating the digital divide is steadily increasing in every corner of the world, while technology innovation continues to open up new opportunities for millions of people. 2006 was important. But we are just getting warmed up. For the 50x15 team, including our industry partners and supporters, we must continue to operate with urgency, and continue to be agents of change. Every life that is changed this year through ICT may affect a dozen more. As ICT access continues to spread, the compound effect helps accelerate our progress toward our goal of connecting half the world’s people to the Internet. That’s progress.

Here’s to another year of change!

Dan Shine
50x15 Program Director