The Palo Alto Research Center and The World Computer Exchange Join Together To Bridge The Gap In The Global Information Divide

Palo Alto, CA, October 22, 2002 – The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has joined with the non-profit World Computer Exchange (WCE) to help the world’s poorest youth bridge the global divide in information, technology and understanding. WCE helps connect young people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to the Internet by making sure donated, working, computers stay out of landfills and reach the hands of those that need them.

PARC initially donated 30 working computers towards the 400 machines being shipped to developing nations this November. Ken Pier, Principal Engineer at PARC, joins the advisory board of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the WCE and continues to coordinate an ongoing program of equipment donation and support from PARC. As part of the drive to obtain the 400 computers needed for the shipment, World Computer Exchange will organize its second public event, “PCs for Peace,” in November. It will give to Bay Area residents and companies the unique opportunity to donate working computers and participate in this educational project.

Richard Gingras, Chair of the Steering Committee of World Computer Exchange San Francisco, said: “Our project, supported by the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, has generated remarkable enthusiasm from PARC. Within two months, coordination among PARC employees, computer equipment donations, collection of private donations, and volunteer hours testing donated computers at our WCE facility indicated a clear interest in an active, on-going partnership. PARC anticipates that routine turnover of computer equipment will go to the World Computer Exchange and PARC employees may participate in present and future programs of the WCE.”

Dana Bloomberg, V.P. Operations at PARC, said: “Community involvement and social activism are as much a part of the PARC culture as is its tradition of science and invention. We are very pleased to participate in a small way toward an effort aimed at the global community.”

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a subsidiary of Xerox Corporation, conducts pioneering interdisciplinary research in physical, computational, and social sciences. Building on our three-decade tradition of innovation, PARC works with industry partners to commercialize technologies created by our renowned scientists. For more information: www.parc.com.

World Computer Exchange is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help bridge the global Divide in information and technology. For more information on its projects and partners abroad, please refer to www.worldcomputerexchange.org. Information on the November “PCs for Peace” event is available on the website at www.pcsforpeace.org.