Close the Gap International VZW
Encyclopedia
Digital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
in the world by offering computers to socio-educational projects such as schools, hospitals and other programmes focussing on improvement of educational and information facilities.
Activity
Close the Gap collects computers from its donors, has the hard disks cleaned, the hardware checked and subsequently configured according to the requirements of its end-users. The computers are then shipped to the destination country by air or sea transport. Locally they are incorporated in a support and maintenance programme to ensure good usage and sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
.
Close the Gap does not only provide computers to developing countries, it also builds up various partnerships with other organisations worldwide in order to deliver all-embracing soft- and hardware solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s to its recipients.
By doing so Close the Gap participates in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
’ “Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
”. The eight targets, outlined by former UN Secretary Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, include access to IT technology and the transfer of knowledge.
Logistic Premises
Close the Gap's refurbishment partner has premises in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, The Netherlands and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Recycling Policy
If equipment has failed test and/or is not suitable for re-use, the product will be disassembled and materials and waste disposals are handed over to European approved down-stream recyclers.
Project Management
In essence, Close the Gap does not offer direct aid to any project, but rather provides tools which can be put to good use and which can enhance the further growth of a community and country. ICT should thus trigger social and economic development as it embraces enormous potential to accelerate growth in efficiency and accessibility.A project should produce a social added value focused on the needs and requirements of the beneficiaries. Close the Gap wants to ensure that edge conditions concerning reliability, security and computer infrastructure are met before recognizing a project application, this to assure maintenance and sustainability of a project:
Projects must be non-commercial, i.e. budget limited organisations
Basic infrastructure needs to be in place, i.e. security, furniture, power, etc.
Minimum of local IT knowledge and proficiency
Advisory board
Complementing the Board of Directors, Close the Gap’s Advisory Board consists of a number of international personalities. Members of this board act as international ambassadors and also play a strong role in strategic decisions to be taken by giving advice to the Managing Director on existing approaches and proposed directions.Viscount Etienne Davignon
Étienne Davignon
Étienne Francois Jacques Davignon, Viscount Davignon is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission.-Career:...
Vice Chairman Suez-Tractebel
Former Vice-President of the EU-Commission
Prof. Dr. Marc Despontin
Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
(Free University Brussels
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
)
Mr. François-Xavier de Donnea
François-Xavier de Donnéa
François Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region....
Minister of State, Belgium
Mr. Dieter Frisch
Former Director General for Development at the EU-Commission
Mrs. Monique Heijn
Ambassador STOP AIDS NOW!
Prof. em. Dr. Silvain Loccufier
Honorary Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
(Free University Brussels
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
)
Dr. Peter Piot
Peter Piot
Baron Peter Piot, MD, PhD FRCP is a former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, former Executive Director of the UN specialized agency UNAIDS, and a professor at Imperial College London...
UNAIDS Executive Director (until 31 December 2008)
Chairman of the King Baudouin Foundation
King Baudouin Foundation
The King Baudouin Foundation is a public benefit foundation in Brussels, Belgium, established in 1976.Named after Baudouin of Belgium, Belgium's late head of state, its mission is to contribute to improving the living conditions of the population. KBF, both a grantmaking and an operating...
, Brussels
Prof. Dr. Jan Pronk
Jan Pronk
Johannes "Jan" Pieter Pronk is a Dutch politician and diplomat. Currently, he is a Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague....
Former Minister for Development
Former Deputy Secretary General United Nations and former special UN-envoy for Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
Count Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
President International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
Nobel Peace Price 1984
Prof. Dr. Frank Vandenbroucke
Minister of Education in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Van Camp
Benjamin Van Camp
Benjamin Van Camp is a Belgian scientist working on the immunobiology of B cell malignancies and multiple myeloma, and autologous bone marrow transplantation. Between 2000 and 2008 he was the rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel....
Pro-Rector Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
(Free University Brussels
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
)
Mr. Tony Vandeputte
Honorary Delegate Administrator at the Federation of Belgian Companies