BNP Paribas the Netherlands donates 1,000 laptops to #allemaaldigitaal
At least 15,000 Dutch citizens don’t have access to necessary resources to be able to participate digitally. This is the conclusion we made one week after starting the campaign #allemaaldigitaal (#alldigital). NLdigital collaborates with the government and social organizations to collect and distribute laptops and tablets. Thanks to the support and effort of our partners, we are currently counting 1,500 devices. But the demand is much higher.
Through this campaign alone we have received over 10,000 requests for laptops for school children. And we are receiving new requests daily. Also outside of education the demand for laptops and tablets are really high, for example at healthcare institutions, welfare organizations, neighborhood teams and other social organizations. The city of Amsterdam for example has received more than 4,000 requests from these groups in less than a week time. Thanks to several organizations within #allemaaldigitaal combining their forces, they have created a more transparent overview of the actual demand.
It’s about groups that are already less visible. Now that everyone is obliged to stay at home because of the current corona situation, there’s a risk that these people will be isolated even more. We really have to prevent this from happening.” – Laurentien van Oranje, who is involved in the project on behalf of the Alliantie Digitaal Samenleven.
To be able to meet the demands, #allemaaldigitaal bundles all available supply regarding new and used laptops and tablets. In less than a week time 1,500 used laptops have been donated, which are being cleared up and refurbished by volunteers from Centralpoint, PQR, and NEG-ITSolutions. Thanks to KPN and VodafoneZiggo we can also offer internet connection with Wi-Fi if necessary.
Financial contributions are also welcome.
The campaign also accepts financial contributions, with which they can buy refurbished laptops themselves. In this way, BNP Paribas donated a sum, from which 1,000 laptops can be bought for school children.
Geert Lippens, CEO BNP Paribas the Netherlands:
“Today, more than ever the importance of digital technology in our society is growing explosively. We have to ensure that the gap in our society will not increase. It is unacceptable that there are children nowadays who cannot do their schoolwork, simply because they do not have a laptop or tablet. We would like to support these children with our contribution.”
We hope to receive more donations like this on short term, so that we can aid as many people as possible:
Lotte de Bruijn, director of NLdigital:
“It is amazing how much help and positive reactions we have already received, but to help everyone we still need more. The next weeks will be all hands on deck: whether you still have laptops laying around or are able to do a financial donation, all help is welcome.”