Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Brings Imcon Internet Backpacks to Help Connect Liberians to the World
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2018 / Imcon International Inc., in cooperation with former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, deployed the first Internet Backpack in Liberia. Liberian schools currently are not connected to the internet, but that is about to change due in part to the introduction of Imcon International Internet Backpack. Recently inaugurated President George Weah has confirmed Liberia's intent to improve its educational system by providing children a 21st-century learning experience.
During a fall visit to the United States in 2017, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was publicly presented with an Imcon Internet Backpack resulting in the implementation of the mobile classroom in Liberian schools. Her office and the Liberian Ministry of Education at that time offered to donate several additional Imcon Internet Backpacks to pilot schools in Liberia, and begin plans for a wider implementation.
"I'm going to take the Internet Backpack on my back to the remote village and school children of Julijuah, who have never had the gift of the internet for their learning. I want to bring this technology, your programs, and the internet, not only to the school children of Liberia, but also to all the children of the world!"
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Nobel Peace Prize, 2011)
Through Mrs. Sirleaf and the Ministry of Education of Liberia, Imcon International was able to deploy and successfully test their Internet Backpacks for use in Liberian primary and secondary schools. Mrs. Sirleaf participated in the inaugural "live" video/web-conference education event with One Planet Education Network ("OPEN"). During the event, students in the remote village Julijuah School were able to connect via a satellite system within Imcon's Internet Backpack to students located in New York City, NY and Columbus, Georgia. This moment was a historic Liberian educational system first. During the session, students and teachers on both sides of the Atlantic shared information, asked each other questions about their lives, and discussed further educational collaboration opportunities. The event ended with American and Liberian students joining together to sing Happy Birthday to Mrs. Sirleaf.
"Imcon's Internet Backpack is a breakthrough in technology that fills a huge void by allowing isolated and remote schools worldwide the ability to access the internet for learning and teaching purposes. With tens of thousands of schools in Liberia and other developing nations still unconnected, there is now a great opportunity to bring 21st century STEM education to everyone, fulfilling the vision of a truly global classroom. By leveling the education playing field, we facilitate greater economic opportunity for the children of ALL nations," said George Newman, CEO and Founder, One Planet Education Network.
Syracuse University iSchool Prof. Lee W McKnight (Internet Backpack co-inventor and Founder, Imcon International, Inc.) said, "If you have an Internet Backpack with edgeware, even if there is no electricity and there are no other locally available networks, immediate connectivity is now both possible and sustainable - anywhere. This is great news for students in Liberia, and fantastic news for all of us, should we ever find ourselves in worst case scenario conditions."
About Imcon International Inc.
Imcon International Inc., an immediate connectivity solutions provider, is developing edgeware services and device solutions such as the Internet Backpack which conform to the Open Specifications Model for the Internet of Things v0.5. The Open Specifications Model was developed through fifteen years of National Science Foundation and industry-supported cloud to edge (edgeware) dynamic secure solutions research and development led by Syracuse University School of Information Studies Professor Lee W McKnight. Lee is co-inventor of the Internet Backpack. For more information, visit Imconintl.com.About OPEN (One Planet Education Network)
OPEN's mission is to inspire a passion for lifelong learning and to promote scientific literacy. We prepare the global community of learners for the 21st-century workplace, and to resolve the major challenges confronting us. For more information, visit oneplaneteducation.com.
Media Contact:
SU iSchool Professor Lee McKnight
678-915-1759 or info@imconintl.com
SOURCE: Imcon International Inc.
