An Ignoble Experiment: 50x15 Connections

To view this mail in a browser, copy http://sdm3.rm04.net/servlet/MailView?ms=MjEzNDQ3OAS2&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0 into your browser.

AMD 50x15 Connections
Volume 4, Issue 2
August 2008

Changing the World - One Person at a Time
-----------------------------------------

Dear Indiana Jones,

Some days are better than others. Some days we refer to as "great." In early June of this year I had one of my "best." Ever. Really. Read on.

On June 4th, 2008, the center of the Universe shifted to a schoolroom in the town of Gugulethu, on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. In that room were the people that have made 50x15 the catalyst for change that it is today. As you'll read, we had government dignitaries, banking executives, professional educators, physicians, and of course children, all present to celebrate success and to commit to doing more. Most importantly, I had the honor of being with my entire senior team and our partners, including those partners that have been with us from the very beginning (when no-one knew what the "bottom of the pyramid" referred to!).

I have never been so proud to be associated with such a dynamic, diverse group of people, all singularly committed to changing the world, making it better. They work tirelessly to educate, to heal, to enable. The community that has emerged over time is tight, yet inclusive, driven, yet flexible. There is a blessing that goes, "May your home always be too small to hold all your friends." It is my hope that the 50x15 community will always be overflowing with friends dedicated to making a difference, just as that school in Gugulethu was spilling over with my team, my partners and my friends on June 4th, one of my best days. Ever.

Dan Shine
Vice President, 50x15 Initiative

---------------------------------------
NEWS & EVENTS

--50x15 Team Hosts First Africa Partner Summit--

When AMD launched the 50x15 Initiative in 2004, the company knew that the success of the program would largely depend on cooperation and teamwork from a broad range of collaborators across the globe. Over the past four years, the 50x15 Initiative has fostered digital inclusion through innovations and technologies to the communities who need it most. But there is still a great deal of work to be done.

--2007 Open Architecture Challenge Winner's Innovative Design Seeks to Empower Thousands of Children in Kenya--

During the 50x15 Partner Summit held in June in Cape Town, South Africa, AMD and Architecture for Humanity, an organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and provides professional design services to communities in need, announced the winners of the 2007 AMD Open Architecture Challenge: Digital Inclusion. The global competition, which is the largest prize of its kind in the field of architecture, provides the overall winner with the resources to develop technology facilities for communities in need.

--Turk Pipkin, Writer and Producer of The Nobelity Project, Releases Newest Short Film, One Child at a Time--

Filmmaker Turk Pipkin, writer and producer of The Nobelity Project, has recently announced his newest short film, One Child at a Time, which highlights the Miracle Foundation's inspiring work for orphaned children in India.

---------------------------------------
RESULTS

--NComputing, AMD and BRAC Join Forces to Expand Computing in Bangladesh--
Alliance Equips 10 Schools Across the Country with Low-Cost Computing Technology and Internet Connectivity

NComputing, AMD and BRAC have collaborated to deploy innovative technology solutions in 10 new education-based 50x15 Learning Labs throughout Bangladesh. BRAC, one of the world's largest non-governmental organizations, deployed NComputing virtual desktops and AMD Athlon? 64 X2 Dual-Core processor-based desktop computers in 10 schools around the country as part of the 50x15 Initiative.

--Hector Ruiz, AMD Chief, Gives His Thoughts After Visiting the Chiapas 50x15 Learning Lab--
Hector Ruiz
Executive Chairman
AMD

I have always considered myself a fortunate man, one whose life has been filled with many opportunities. Recently, fortune was bestowed on me again, when I had the rare occasion to see the vision of 50x15 coming to life in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. This time however, the opportunities belong to the villagers of Chiapas.

--AMD-Powered Computers Making a World of Difference to Students, Teachers and Communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa--

Not long ago, students in South Africa's impoverished Shayamoya Township, in Kokstad were housed in derelict buildings as their farm school had been demolished. Only one of the 1,200 students had ever seen a computer. However, in January, 2007, Oprah's Angel Network teamed up with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education to build a new, state-of-the-art learning facility.

---------------------------------------
PARTNERS

--"Growing Connections" Helps Feed Chiapas--

Until recently, the indigenous populations of San Juan Chamula and Oxchuc in the southernmost state in Mexico had little interaction with the world beyond their borders. Located in a region isolated by the mountains of Chiapas, nearly 1,000 miles separated their rural farming communities from AMD's Lone Star facility. Now, all that separates these Chiapas villages from Austin ? or any other location in the world ? is the click of a mouse.

---------------------------------------
50x15 LINKS

50X15 Website
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=37&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

Send to a Colleague
http://sdm3.rm04.net/servlet/FTFClickServlet?m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

50x15 Connections: Past Issues
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=41&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

50x15 Timeline
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=6&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

50x15 Journals
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=24&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

Track 50x15 Labs
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=4&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

---------------------------------------
AMD Micro Devices, Inc.
One AMD Place, P.O. Box 3453
Sunnyvale, California 94088-3453
USA

AMD Homepage
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=18&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

Privacy
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=12&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

Trademark Info
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ctt?kn=21&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&b=2&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0

Unsubscribe
http://sdm3.rm04.net/ui/modules/display/optOut.jsp?&m=2134478&r=MTM4ODYyMDY2NjAS1&j=NTU2Mzg3NTMS1&mt=1&rt=0