One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) As Part of the War Effort

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) began as an educational effort and not really a technological effort. OLPC wants to foster learning and provide educational opportunities for children of developing nation. The educational project may find itself as a means of ending a war effort.

More and more government leaders are recognizing that the unconventional war in Afghanistan is not winnable, for either side. It is not a geo-political war. It is a religious war. And the role of the OLPC project is that, hopefully, education can overcome violence:

“…If we can invest in our youth, with ICT (information and communications technology) and with a quality education, it will make a huge difference in the future of Afghanistan.

How can it be that hundreds of people are so easily brainwashed to blow themselves up? It’s because of a lack of education.”

link: How the OLPC can help beat Taliban in Afghanistan

History has shown that education can help defuse hatred. Victory in this conflict is not claiming some geographic territory or a change in governments. Victory is the end of violence and building understanding. Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently stated this conclusion: “We cannot kill our way to victory“. We can put a laptop in the hands of every child in Afghanistan and show those children that we are not evil. A little laptop may do what bullets and bombs cannot.

Catherine Forsythe