Monday 26 August 2013

Register now: basecamp2013@Malacca & World Innovative Forum-KL

Two meetings happening in Malaysia in November. Make your travel plans now.

If participants wants to network this is an ideal time to travel to Malaysia. If you (we) are lucky maybe a chance to talk to Prof Sugata Mitra who is listed as a Star Speaker at the World Innovation Forum-KL (see link below) or in basecamp2013


1. olpcbasecamp2013@Malacca (www.olpc.asia/basecamp2013) 
     Nov 16 -18, 2013

REGISTER@: https://olpcbasecamp2013.eventbrite.com/

olpc BaseCamp 2013 is a 100% community-driven gathering of people who care about education and the use of technologies to enable learning for children in disadvantaged communities. Every participant can be an active contributor to this mission. When there are dialogues, perspectives sharing and opportunities to work with like-minded people, we may reach a tipping point.
If you are interested in education and the transformative power of technology for learning, then olpc BaseCamp 2013 is for you!
olpc BaseCamp 2013 is a totally volunteer-driven event paid by individuals themselves. There are no registration or participation fees. olpc BaseCamp 2013 will be held from 16 to 18 November 2013 in the historic town of Malacca, Malaysia. Our main venue will be the friendly Wayfarer Guest House by the riverside right at the heart of this UNESCO World Heritage city.

2. World Innovation Forum Kuala  Lumpur (WIF-KL) 
  Nov 12-14, 2013


Venue & Dates:Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA - view venue12-14 November 2013 (Tuesday - Thursday)
   
The WIF-KL is anchored by Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) with the cooperation of the Malaysian Innovation Foundation/Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia (YIM)
WIF-KL 2012 had 3 core and 9 satellite events held over a five day period..

WIF-KL 2013 promises to build on and expand from the highly successful WIF-KL 2012.

1,500 international delegates from 50 different countries and 10,000 visitors are expected to attend the World Innovation Exposition to be held alongside the forum. 


Tuesday 20 August 2013

Why basecamp2013 is in Asia?



Lots of work need to be done in this part of the world. There is a very very large population of children who are not receiving education and living in poverty. The extreme between the rich and the poor is visible if you have traveled or live in Asia. There is a hope that education will bring a different future for the region and volunteers have a role to play. basecamp2013 is an attempt to bring people together in this spirit for sharing, dialogue and future actions in a holiday like "work" environment. Plan your presence and holiday!

Thursday 15 August 2013

Nov 16:1st day of basecamp2013 is XO-Day

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I wish basecamp2013 can offer participants breathing spaces to be mad, bad and sad for a XO-Day party!  This will renew our souls to move forward as volunteers and create a better OLPC future.

The first day of basecamp in Malacca, Malaysia is Nov 16, 2013 which is 8 years since the XO idea was made public :

"The first early prototype was unveiled by the project's founder Nicholas Negroponte and then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on November 16, 2005, at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) inTunis, Tunisia.[11] " ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1)




                  Venue: basecamp2013 makeshift HQ 
                              @http://wayfarermelaka.com/getting-here/#.Ug1_Z9JxQ9U
                                         Visual of the venue and visitors' ratings
   
                     Note: HK volunteers find excuses to meet for fun & FUN
                              as LEARNING IS FUN
                                             
   





OLPC Basecamp2013 in Malacca, Malaysia


XO*ses*sion 
 noun
1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc     related to what the little green OLPC XO laptop can do. 
2. the state of being xosessed 
3. The act of xosessing 
For the last few years thousands of volunteers worldwide have been committed to the vision and missions of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). It is time for a meetup in Asia to think about how to celebrate our collective effort and prepare for more summits (deployments) to climb for years ahead. There are still millions of children in Asia without education.
Come to  Basecamp 2013 in historical MalaccaMalaysia  as a 100% community gathering of people who care about OLPC, education and the use of learning technologies to impact children.
Read our FAQ (http://www.olpc.asia/basecamp2013/faq.html#section-faq) and follow  our blog. 
 Love to hear for you and selamat datang (welcome) to Malaysia !
OLPC Asia Volunteer 

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Show, Play and Tell: Spreading the educational message

Tomorrow will be 3 months before basecamp2013. Getting local participation to attend is easier (logistically but ..)  if we could get them interested for a good educational cause. New bloods to champion OLPC is vital for nurturing new deployments or initiatives.  Have been spending alot of time recently networking with my Malaysian classmates of 1976. When I visit Malaysia/Singapore (see videos below) I try to get fellow Malaysian and Singporeans to get a feel of the XO.  Must get XO-4 Touch and the XO-Learning tablets for future demos..

Malaysia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q581WVCZfmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFrtk73k1zc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OKFMFyDHR0

Singapore EduCamp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YNuDVpl8Uc


Getting closer to a name or visual for the MHSClass76 project for Orang Asli children:



Sunday 11 August 2013

MHS old boys & girls social responsibility project

A  group of old boys & girls of Malacca High School (MHS) is raising funds to get a small OLPC deployment (40 XO)  in Malaysia to support the Orang Asli children. This is a easier deployment since the infrastructure is in placed.  Read about the site visit and the recommendations from my old classmate and a fellow scout!




                                          Function Hall



                                         Existing Library/Lab

I am delighted to share the photos taken during my visit with Tham Kong Weng to Kebun SEMOA located just after Tras, Pahang, after around 1 hour drive from PJ.

Base on my recent visit, I am happy to strongly support and recommend Kebun SEMOA as our educational project which is the 1st for Malaysia for the following reasons ,

1. Well managed community with children who can truly benefit from this educational project.
2. Existing infrastructure and resources for us to leverage on for the implementation and success of this educational project.
3. The real interest and commitment of SEMOA as an NGO towards education for Orang Asli
4. Sustainability of the Educational Project via new children attending this centre in the coming years.
5. Close proximity for our group to visit, volunteer and support this community and educational project to ensure success which is truly meaningful for our Malaysian friends of Orang Asli Heritage.

Kang, appreciate if you can advice the next steps and also share this communication with the rest of our classmates for their pledge of support.

BTW, I have mentioned to Sonia Boey of the  http://www.olpc.asia/basecamp2013  workshop in Malacca and I am happy to fully sponsor her participation in terms of fees,travel, hotel accommodation and meals.

It will be good if you and wife can make a special trip back to KL soon and assist us in the final planning and implementation of this worthy project which will mean heaps to the children.

Thank you for your kind attention and look forward to taking lead on this project.

Best wishes

YS Chua