camara ( social enterprise )
camara is a social enterprise using technology to deliver skills to improve education in communities around the world .
pending successful piloting, camara’s education hubs believes in scaling a successful delivery model the identified target audience guided by social enterprise principles .
camara adopts a social enterprise model that sells the camara package to schools at heavily subsidised prices making them affordable and valued to even the most disadvantaged communities .
michele eccher, 2014 .
social enterprise in ireland: the camara education experience ,
euricse working papers 1474, euricse (european research institute on cooperative and social enterprises) .
we connect ireland’s leading business people and experts with social entrepreneurs to help them achieve maximum social impact .
we deliver targeted support to social entrepreneurs, helping them to build strong foundations and drive lasting social change .
we support social entrepreneurs directly through our dedicated social entrepreneurs ireland team and through our network of supporters and advisors .
social entrepreneurs ireland (sei) directly supports the early stage development of social entrepreneurs by providing a range of supports .
we provide funding to social entrepreneurs to help them to take their solution to a social problem to the next level .
the first part of this work gives an up - to - date representation of the irish social enterprise sector, while in the second part camara education is presented as a specific case of successful irish social enterprise. the camara education model will be presented, together with the results obtained and the beneficial impact on society it generates .
“a social economy enterprise operates like a business, produces goods and services for the market, but manages its operations and redirects its surpluses in pursuit of social and environmental goals. ” – defining the social economy, by fiona salkie, senior policy analyst, wd headquarters, edmonton
the concept �social enterprise�, despite being widespread, is still of difficult interpretation. what is certain is that social enterprises bring great benefits to different communities or groups of disadvantaged people by managing economic activities. this paper analyzes the situation of social enterprises in ireland, being ireland an example of a country in which social enterprises still do not have a nationally accepted and agreed definition. the first part of this work gives an up - to - date representation of the irish social enterprise sector, while in the second part camara education is presented as a specific case of successful irish social enterprise. the camara education model will be presented, together with the results obtained and the beneficial impact on society it generates .
these supports consist of financial investment in social entrepreneurs, technical training, peer networking, mentoring and links to other social entrepreneur networks .
eccher, michele, social enterprise in ireland: the camara education experience (december 12, 2014). euricse working papers, 74 | 14. available at ssrn: urltoken or urltoken
in 2011 camara won the first prize in corporate social responsibility at the irish software association industry awards .
the concept “social enterprise”, despite being widespread, is still of difficult interpretation. what is certain is that social enterprises bring great benefits to different communities or groups of disadvantaged people by managing economic activities. this paper analyzes the situation of social enterprises in ireland, being ireland an example of a country in which social enterprises still do not have a nationally accepted and agreed definition .
in 2008 cormac lynch, camara founder and group ceo, won the social category and overall david manley award .
camara education was delighted to be awarded with best use of technology for education or training at the 13th annual ict excellence awards in dublin on may 16th. the judges were impressed by camara’s social enterprise model and particularly noted the organisation’s reach and impact .
the camara team was delighted to win the ‘best use of technology for education or training’ at the ict excellence awards, held in dublin on may 16th. this prestigious accolade underlines how camara has grown to become an established and internationally respected social enterprise .
site visits started at camara education, an international charity operating as a social enterprise that sends refurbished computers and provides digital literacy trainings to educational institutions in africa and ireland. in 2015 they handled about 25 000 computers and half of them was reused and installed at schools .
find out more about social entrepreneurs ireland, who we are and why we do what we do .
idea4africa was chosen for the future partner prize and will be working alongside our school enterprise challenge team to bring our programmes to more schools in rwanda .
camara has four values that we demonstrate every day through our behaviour and that are the essence of camara. when you engage with camara you will see these demonstrated :
in each operational country, camara education undertakes a broad contextual analysis. this process allows for the analysis and articulation of the environment in which individual camara’s education hubs currently operate. this analysis considers camara’s key strategic drivers, the educational needs per country and the circumstances and variables that currently influence camara’s capacity to achieve intended results and the successful demonstration of those results. the output of this phase is a refined educationally focused strategy based on social enterprise principles that articulates clear steps to implementation of such strategy .
camara is an international social enterprise that reuses computers to deliver 21st century skills and improve education in disadvantaged communities across africa, haiti and ireland. at our it equipment collection and refurbishment centre in london, we securely data erase and refurbish old computer equipment for reuse. anything that cannot be reused is properly recycled at an authorised weee facility in the uk .
camara education operates as a social enterprise and thus generates a significant proportion of its own revenue. schools are charged for camara services at a heavily subsidised price, in order to make them more affordable for those in the most disadvantaged areas. income from the sale of computers, recycling and provision of services only partly covers our costs. camara still relies on external funding to make up the deficit and most importantly to enable us to reach our three strategic goals ‘prove, improve and scale’ .
pwc is donating 640 computers to disadvantaged schools via camara education – an irish charity with a mission to enhance education. the social enterprise has provided digital literacy skills to over 500, 000 children from disadvantaged communities in africa, ireland and jamaica. since the beginning of its partnership with camara, pwc has donated over 2, 500 computers to date, resulting in an improved education for some 50, 000 children in disadvantaged communities .
since its inception, €1. 65m of funding, as well as professional business support, has been provided to 20 irish social entrepreneurs .
my name is martina hynes and i joined camara education last february 2016 as a volunteer. i chose to volunteer with camara because i believe in the cause and the work camara education does .
in 2012 camara education received the lord mayor' s award, this honoured camara for its special contribution to dublin and its citizens .
a social entrepreneur is someone with a business head and a social heart, and someone who has the spirit, energy and drive of successful business entrepreneurs, but rather than building profitable businesses, their core purpose is to improve and enhance society, changing communities for the better, says sei .
teach a man to fish and idea4africa, together, have trained 15 teachers in rwanda to implement the school enterprise challenge in their classrooms with plans to train an additional 35 by 2020 .
the organisation is a hybrid – operating as a social enterprise and raising its own funds, but also managing donor funds. the core business of the educational hubs is to sell the e - labs (refurbished desktops), educational content and training to schools at heavily subsidised rates; meaning that whilst camara earns a portion of its own income, a significant bulk of the remainder is made up by donor funding .
the pan african awards reward the very best projects which are using enterprise and entrepreneurship to innovate in the field of education. teach a man to fish manage the awards using their expertise in enterprise education and highlight inspirational models and projects through their large network of educational organisations and schools and their work aims to eradicate poverty by providing good quality, low - cost, relevant education to young people in developing countries .
our volunteers are at the very core of what we do and have been since the beginning. find out what it’s like to work with a dynamic social enterprise, learn valuable skills and give your career a boost. whether you’re looking to gain hands on practical skills in our computer workshop or take up one of our office volunteer positions, we’d love to hear from you .
meet geraldine. geraldine is one of our workshop technicians in our camara dublin hq. geraldine gives us her perspective of being a volunteer with camara here :
camara was founded in 2005 and since then has impacted over two million learners .
by donating their old equipment for reuse rather than recycling, pwc is promoting maximum environmental benefit in addition to social and educational value. a recent survey done by camara found half of irish companies mistakenly thought recycling was more beneficial to the environment than reuse .
the pan african awards is an annual competition run with the generous support of the saville foundation. the competition seeks out the very best organisations who are using enterprise and entrepreneurship to innovate in the field of education in africa .
camara education limited is registered with the revenue commissioners (chy 16922) in ireland, camara learning limited is registered with the charities commission (1135540) in england and camara education inc is registered as a 501 (c) 3 organisation in the us .
in 2011 camara education reached the 15th place of the deloitte technology fast 50 award .
camara currently has several job vacancies based in ireland, the uk and africa. please highlight these exciting opportunities to anyone who has expressed an interest in working with camara .
now, organisations providing young people with hands - on business experience or using community - based business solutions to fund education have the chance to win $ 15, 000 usd for their work through the pan - african awards for enterprise in education .
take an action challenge, sponsor a computer, an elearning centre or fundraise for camara .
we load edubuntu and the camara educational package full of learning resources for teachers and students .
in 2012 camara rwanda, a hub of camara education, received the' japanese award for most innovative development project' at the 12th annual global development network conference in january 2011 .
established as part of the guinness 250th celebrations, the arthur guinness fund is an investment programme that honours the philanthropic legacy of arthur guinness by supporting the vision and enterprising spirit of social entrepreneurs in ireland .
the partnership between camara and dell will improve access to technology and improve computer literacy skills in schools in dublin and limerick. in dublin, camara will provide training on google apps admin training and teacher training, whereas the limerick school will work with camara and dell on interactive whiteboards .
camara education inc. is a registered 501 (c) 3 in the us camara learning limited is registered with the charities commission (1135540) in england camara education limited is registered with the revenue commissioners (chy 16922) in ireland website build & development by volunteers marcin banaszak and lisa harrison on behalf of camara education ltd. theme designed by elegant themes | powered by wordpress
see how camara and dell are working together to reuse your technology and bridge the digital divide .
guinness & co is inviting applications from social enterprises in ireland to vie for a chance to obtain between €50, 000 and €100, 000 each in the upcoming arthur guinness fund to help move their ventures forward .
in 2013 camara education received an ict excellence award for best use of technology in education or training .
camara education is an irish registered charity dedicated to improving education through technology. this role is to support camara in processing the computers in the dublin workshop so that they are ready for shipment to africa .
guinness has also invested in projects in africa, indonesia, the us and the uk. most recently, guinness announced a global partnership with ashoka to enable the deployment of the funds to new social entrepreneurial projects around the world .
in 2016 camara education received an innovative programme of the year 2016 dóchas awards with imlango programme in kenya .
we are very lucky in camara to have so many people interested in volunteering with us, and so are not always in a position to offer a volunteer place immediately. if you would like to find out about new roles, follow us on social media where we post all our up and coming positions, or sign up to our quarterly newsletter at the bottom of the page and we will keep you up to date with what’s happening at camara .
camara education is fortunate to have so many dedicated people who give their time for free, to support the work we do. volunteers bring a diverse range of skills, knowledge and expertise to the camara team. volunteers include college students, unemployed skilled workers and recent graduates using their knowledge at camara to obtain further work experience .
the finished product is boxed and shipped to one of camara’s education hubs in east africa, caribbean and ireland .
recreate is a social enterprise scrap store with surplus materials collected from businesses. all imaginable kinds of objects and materials diverted from waste stream and here made available for a creative work. members of the scrap store, including individuals, schools or artists are given unlimited access to the stock and apparently everything can find a new purpose once made available. creative workshops organized by recreate and other initiatives allow children and adults including persons with special needs to work together because unlike in a traditional education process, in a creative process everyone can find their way to participate .
today camara education together with lord puttnam, ireland’s digital champion and john lonergan former governor of mountjoy, launched its strategy for 2017 - 2020. we here at camara education believe that quality education and youth empowerment are the ...
volunteer expenses policy – volunteers give their time and skills free of charge however camara will reimburse any out - of - pocket travel expenses you may incur in the course of undertaking voluntary work for the organisation, provided these have previously been agreed upon by your supervisor. please note, camara do not reimburse any travel expenses to and from the camara workshop .
today marks world humanitarian day, a day to promote social empowering stories and honor those around the world who have helped improve the livelihood of poverty stricken people around the world. ireland is the 11th highest provider of assistance in the world and we ...
camara offers volunteering opportunities throughout the year. our volunteers include college students, recent graduates and unemployed skilled workers. in return for their time and expertise, camara offers individuals the opportunity to find out what it’s like to work with a dynamic and innovative organisation and to gain real work experience in their field. volunteers bring passion, commitment, and new perspectives to camara, which is vital for the development of the organisation and camara gains enormous benefit from the contributions of supporters .
in 2012 camara education ranked 32nd at the deloitte technology fast 50 award that honours business growth, technological innovation and entrepreneurial spirit .
– camara recognises that volunteers have the right to raise grievances about any matter related to their volunteering (this could be in relation to another volunteer, a member of the paid staff, or the manner in which they are being treated by camara) .
by vincent k. bwalya, training manager – camara zambia the battle between microsoft windows and the ubuntu operating system in zambia’s new curriculum has been an oppressing debate for some time, until the introduction of camara’s grades 8 and 9 computer studies ...
camara education are delighted to announce the launch of our 2014 annual report. camara education is committed to closing the digital divide by improving education in disadvantaged communities around the world. in 2014, we delivered training to 4, 299 educators and ...
to date, €1. 65m has been awarded to a range of social entrepreneurial initiatives that are committed to making a positive and sustainable impact on communities all over ireland. successful projects in the current process will be eligible to receive between €50, 000 and €100, 000 each .
training typically consists of an ict literacy course called camara ict skillbuilder for teachers, intel’s teach programme or cisco it essentials computer maintenance .
camara kenya was successful in a bid to install 20 elearning centres in schools in kwale, in the south coast of mombasa. camara is very excited to work with usaid and the haki centre on this venture and believes that this is the beginning of a prosperous relationship .
on 19th june 2013 camara was honoured to welcome president of ireland, michael d. higgins to the official opening of the chapelizod premises .
sharing practical employment skills. significant transfer of skills takes place through the volunteer programmes; this has improved volunteer’s skill - sets and employability. camara serves educational institutes in the area in which it has established education hubs and sub - hubs. we have criteria for those educational institutes we do not serve; however, it is not common for them to approach camara but rather to purchase new technology. in most camara countries, the vast majority of schools are labelled as disadvantaged. camara focuses on the most disadvantaged schools that have electricity and the financial resources required .
the aim of this policy is to communicate the commitment of camara and to ensure that there is adherence to best practice for working with volunteers .
camara are committed to providing a a child - friendly and child - safe environment in all aspects of it’s business. see full policy here .
camara takes in computers from individuals and businesses alike. every computer donated to camara is wiped seven times using dban in accordance with us department of defence standard 5220. 22 - m before being refurbished and loaded with a new operating system and educational software. the new operating system is generally linux known as camara ubuntu 10. 4 for africa and windows 7 for ireland and the caribbean. computers are boxed and shipped to one of 10 camara’s education hubs in east africa, caribbean and ireland. the education hub then sells the computer to ‘approved’ schools at a heavily subsidised price. to gain approval, the school must have a well ventilated and secure computer room with appropriate surge protection. the camara package to schools consists of :
camara’s hub in dublin is experiencing a shortage of computer monitors. at present there are 2, 000 refurbished computers without accompanying monitors in the workshop. for the month of august, every organisation that gives 10 working monitors will receive a free camara t - shirt as a token of our appreciation .
the volunteer handbook has been designed as a practical guide to aid volunteers get oriented quickly in camara. it also contains a number of policies as follows :
this quarter brought with it significant developments for camara’s activities in haiti, with the opening of five elearning centres. the team worked extremely hard to push through this project, which has been kindly sponsored by the digicel foundation. several irish and haitian organisations have worked in collaboration with camara to ensure the elearning centres were installed .
the welfare of its volunteers is of paramount importance to camara. the grievance procedure is in place to ensure that all volunteers are dealt with in a fair manner .
in the majority of schools where camara has installed computers, educators have little or no knowledge of how to use them. therefore as part of our contract with them, camara organises a variety of training programs, aimed at educators and principals, which allows them to effectively use the computers as learning tools. this training consists of :
the camara network consists of education hubs, which are independent local entities responsible for the front - line delivery of the camara model to educational institutes within their respective countries. there are currently six education hubs in africa (located in kenya, lesotho, tanzania, uganda, zambia and ethiopia) and one education hub in ireland. the ultimate governance and decision - making authority of the hubs are the local boards. the chair of these boards in developing hubs is a direct employee of camara education ltd .
john fitzsimons, and mark fox, camara’s business development manager, attended the event and are pictured here receiving the award from grace o’rourke veitch, the country manager of citrix .
“we are delighted with this further donation by pwc who are our single biggest donor, ” said john fitzsimons, camara education ceo. “camara students receive a key skill for the 21st century: digital literacy, as well as a hugely improved education. we need more organisations and individuals to take pwc’s lead and insist that used computers are reused for education. ”
occasionally, there may be a problem or complaint made about a volunteer’s behaviour. although this is very rare, camara believes it is important that problems or complaints are dealt with fairly, openly and consistently. the procedure explained here will be followed in the event of an issue arising. in all situations camara strives to ensure that the people involved are treated fairly
volunteering with camara has helped me a lot in developing new office skills. i feel very rewarded and positive, as i have been able to contribute good ideas to improve the work processes .
a critical part of any camara intervention or operation is to provide proof of the intended and unintended impacts of any developed programs. this allows camara to refine and remodel where required thus providing a better solution to our identified target educational institutes. it also allows us to report to our partners and other stakeholders in the ict in education domain on the successes and challenges encountered in implementing any programme developed .
camara’s new elearning centre at the ministry of education in zambia highlights the importance being placed on ict in the country. the development of a digitally literate population is at the forefront of the government’s agenda .
“i started volunteering with camara as i wanted to learn new it skills and at the same time contribute to the goals of camara. i like the job satisfaction the role provides in successfully repairing / refurbishing laptops. i also appreciate the learning curve—it never ends and always satisfies. there’s something new to learn almost every day in camara with either hardware or software. before joining camara, opening a laptop would have been out of the question. now, routinely, we change screens, hard drives, ram and keyboards, in addition to solving driver or other software issues. it’s great to share knowledge and skills with other (newer) volunteers and see them benefit from it. the most satisfying aspect of my role is to prepare the product to as high a standard as possible and meet delivery deadlines. one of the great things about camara is that the training is often carried out by other volunteers and is always freely shared. both staff and volunteers alike definitely make me feel like a valuable member of the organisation. ”
camara education is delighted to be officially announced as one of the three winners of the pan african awards for entrepreneurship in education 2016 run by teach a man to fish. there were over 400 applicant organisations .
the president praised the success of camara, noting that so much had been achieved in just 7 years. he also underlined the importance of irish businesses disposing of their it equipment in a socially responsible manner .
an important camara' s single donor is pwc, the company has donated over 2, 500 computers. noel carroll, director of it for pwc said
as part of our corporate responsibility programme at pwc, we are delighted to continue our support of camara’s work in improving education through technology in ireland and africa. it is very satisfying to know that the computers will be reused to benefit the education of children in disadvantaged schools .
‘‘the work camara is doing is meaningful—it can help the needy in the local area and in africa. i feel like i have helped them indirectly. i enjoyed contacting potential donors, since i could interact with them and tell about the work camara is doing. it was also rewarding to follow up the donations, as i frequently received positive feedback of camara’s work—it motivated me to do better in my role. i have improved my communication skills e. g. how to write a professional email and call potential donors. while volunteering in camara, i felt like i was a part of a big family. we helped each other and we worked as a team. the most satisfying aspect about my role was arranging collections and then receiving the equipment. i think the most valuable aspect was contacting donors and working with people from different places, as we could have cultural exchange in the office”
camara education ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with unesco international institute for capacity building in africa (iicba) to collaborate on teacher training and development programmes. this initiative has received positive feedback and recognition from the highest levels at unesco .
the ict excellence awards highlight the achievements of ireland’s technology industry and camara is pleased to receive such prestigious recognition, especially considering the esteemed competition who were also shortlisted. john fitzsimons, ceo of camara education, echoed this by saying: “to be nominated with the likes of hp, hmh and oracle is an honour. to then win the award was a great validation of the work done by our supporters, staff and volunteers across the 12 countries we operate in. ”
we load the hardware with educational content and ship it to camara’s in - country education hubs; who go on to supply it to schools along with teacher training in ict, maintenance support and at the end of life, facilitate recycling .
camara education is hugely honoured and excited to announce the imlango project is the winner of the dóchas “innovative programme of the year” award. the dóchas awards celebrate innovative and inspiring work by people and organisations in ireland working for global ...
this process is ongoing and focuses firstly on process evaluation to ensure that camara are delivering an effective solution as intended. additionally the key focus is on program evaluation to focus on the success and challenges at outcome and impact level of the program .
camara is a registered charity in ireland, the uk and the us. the hub network has grown to include two computer refurbishment hubs (dublin and london) and six education hubs (ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, zambia, lesotho and ireland) .
they operate refurbishment hubs (in dublin, belfast and london) where the collect and refurbish redundant computers and load them with educational information. these are then shipped out to their education hubs, independent local entities responsible for the delivery of camara’s services in :
the second quarter of 2013 has seen some exciting developments for camara education. in total, 1, 761 computers were distributed to elearning centres, 1, 018 teachers were trained and another 37, 000 students are on their way to becoming digitally literate. in addition, we have had significant progress on partner development, won a prestigious award and had some high profile visitors. camara’s success would not be possible without the invaluable contribution from all our dedicated volunteers, staff, sponsors and supporters, so continued thanks .
camara adheres to all health and safety legislation to provide a healthy work environment, as far as is practicable and as set out in the company health and safety statement. employees and volunteers also have responsibilities for their own safety and should be aware of these .
every computer that camara reuses gives 21 children digital literacy. if you consider the amount of computers discarded in ireland alone, over 5, 000, 000 children could receive 21st century computer skills. this will only happen if attitudes toward computer reuse change in ireland .
camara education is delighted to be officially announced as one of the three winners of the pan african awards for entrepreneurship in education 2016 run by teach a man to fish. there were over 400 applicant organisations. the pan african awards reward the very best ...
this quarter saw the partnership between camara jamaica and the digicel foundation go from strength to strength, with the installation of 28 new elearning centres. project 1, 000 is geared towards meeting the united nation’s millennium development goal of achieving 100 per cent literacy by 2015 .
nicola burns is an irish volunteer who recently has returned from a trip to kenya having volunteered in a girls rescue centre with cara projects. while on her travels, nicola visited a camara education school and she recounts her experience below: a family friend put ...
according to the united nations department of social and economic affairs, whilst populations across the world are stabilising in size, both africa and asia are in the midst of substantial changes in the size of their youth populations. by 2030 it is predicted that the number of youth in africa will have increased by 42% . according to the same report, many of these countries experiencing rapid growth amongst their youth are at risk of ever increasing youth unemployment. it is against this backdrop and with empowering young people to be agents of progress and entrepreneurship in mind that the pan african awards for entrepreneurship in education exists .
this blog is one of a series of four, written by jamie ball, a freelance journalist who travelled to ethiopia, kenya and tanzania on behalf of camara education. being of a generation that chiefly, but misleadingly, associates ethiopia with famine, it being referred ...
up to 500, 000 computers are discarded in ireland every year, half of which are still in perfect working order. with demand for computers from schools in africa, jamaica and ireland far exceeding the available supply, camara urges all organisations to make computer reuse a priority as pwc have done .
camara would like to sincerely thank the fundraising efforts of the eaglemoss team in essex, who walked 80km over 3 (extremely hot !) days in order to raise money to fund elearning centres in two ethiopian schools. for more information about their efforts, take a look at their fundraising page .
camara regards environmental protection as an integral and essential part of good business practice. we are committed to achieving and maintaining a high standard of environmental quality in all of our operations, to the protection of health and the environment and are determined to minimise any adverse impacts as a result of our activities .
camara welcomes volunteers in the workshop from all walks of life. some join us for short time college work placements and others are longer - term. read nigel’s story below and learn more about his experience of volunteering with camara. we work with many colleges offering volunteer placements to those who have recently completed / in the process of completing a pc maintenance or similar course and welcome applications for those seeking work experience. our partners include national college ireland, fast track to it, it tallaght and it carlow amongst others, and we work closely with placement advisors to ensure positions are relevant and appropriate for students .
eddie started work with camara a year ago, having been offered a place on the tús back - to - work scheme. eddie’s role sees him log every computer that comes through the door of the chapelizod workshop into the camara database. it’s a hectic role which keeps him on his toes. “i’d say i’ve logged somewhere between 25, 000 and 30, 000 computers since i’ve started here. i’ve really enjoyed my time here. i’m gonna be sending out some cvs soon, and hopefully something comes up. everyone here has been great and i’ll definitely miss it when i leave. hopefully jim (workshop manager) gives me a good reference. ” read more about eddie here
the environment through the reuse of technology. camara regards environmental protection as an integral and essential part of good business practice. we are committed to achieving and maintaining a high standard of environmental quality in all of our operations, to the protection of health and the environment, and are determined to minimise any adverse impacts as a result of our activities .
camara recognises that in order to achieve our goals we need to involve volunteers. we regard volunteers as a valuable resource and encourage them to get involved at all levels of the organisation and within all appropriate activities. we aim to train, support and supervise our volunteers to the best of our abilities and to act quickly and fairly if difficulties arise .
“ iknowledge is a unique programme that camara education delivers to achieve the goal of improving the educational outcomes and life opportunities for young people. it provides beneficiaries with the platforms, skills and support to be entrepreneurs in their community. it enables beneficiaries to generate revenue that funds on - going costs of ict - based solutions provided by the project. ”
having worked in finance for over ten years david made the big decision to change careers and completed a post - grad in public relations before taking up a 6 month volunteer placement with camara as the media and communications officer. this is what he had to say about his role. “while many placements in pr can revolve around doing very menial tasks, the role at camara is very hands - on. from day one i was given projects to work on which were solely my responsibility. with such a small number of employees in the office, everyone really has to take ownership of their own jobs, so it is a great opportunity to prove myself in a new role and develop new skills. ” you can read david’s blog here .
the pilot phase allows camara’s education hubs to test out its constructed delivery model on a sample of schools over a defined period. this ensures that the processes for delivery of the model are complementary to the intended success of the developed solution and can allow for any redesign of elements if required. this also involves testing of the monitoring and evaluation tools to measure the success of the developed solution .
dignity at work policy – camara is fully committed to implementing and promoting measures to protect the dignity of employees and volunteers and to encourage respect for fellow colleagues. this is achieved by creating a work environment free from harassment, sexual harassment, bullying, racism and disrespectful behaviour, by dealing effectively with any complaints of such conduct, and also by welcoming diversity and promoting employment / volunteering equality .
equal opportunities policy – camara is committed to policies and practices that provide equality of opportunity for all, protect the dignity of employees and volunteers and promote respect for others at work. all employees / volunteers are required to take personal and individual responsibility to comply with these policies in order to ensure they behave in a non - discriminatory way, and do not participate in any acts of inappropriate behaviour, harassment or bullying .
“as part of our corporate responsibility programme at pwc, we are delighted to continue our support of camara’s work in improving education through technology in ireland and africa, ” said noel carroll, director of it for pwc. “it is very satisfying to know that the computers will be reused to benefit the education of children in disadvantaged schools. we would urge companies and individuals when disposing of computers to consider reuse before recycling. ”
every computer that is donated to camara is wiped in accordance with us department of defence standard 5220. 22 - m and certification is provided to verify the process. once fully refurbished, these computers are loaded with educational software, and together with teacher training, technical support, and end - of - life recycling, can give thousands of people from marginalised communities the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty they find themselves in .
“i can’t even begin to tell you how i feel about camara. it was a great journey that lasted only six months, but i will remember it forever. the people are amazing. the most satisfying aspect about my role was the diversity­—i got to work with lots of different people and do different things. the people i worked with were very willing to teach me. angelo (our it manager) was amazing—he took so much time to teach me .
after spending 3 months in south africa and also some time in moldova in childrens’ homes, i was able to see that none of the children had access to computers, and that they had very little learning material available, whilst their happiness and eagerness to learn was obvious. i also adopted a little girl from south africa and helping camara is as if i am doing my job to help change somehow the lives of the children i met. i wish i could do more to help to improve their lives .
in the four years from 2017 to 2020, camara will improve the quality of education for an additional three million students. key to achieving this is being rigorous in the measurement of our impact. more importantly, we need to relentlessly act upon those measurements to ensure we are meeting the needs of our educators and young people. by effecting continued systemic change in the education systems we work in we will broaden our impact to a far larger population. in addition our efforts will be contributing, to, amongst others, the sustainable development goal 4; quality education .
i thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction of completing a task. i receive good instructions and training to conduct my role and love learning more about computers. i come to camara education every tuesday to volunteer as i admire the work of the organisation very much. i know the need for education in ireland and every country in the world. computers are important for the future but are very expensive and it is great to be able to recycle them. i would encourage other woman to go for it and sign up to be a workshop technician. it’s good fun and you learn loads .
limerick aims to be ‘lighthouse’ for smart cities as part of €6. 5m eu project
an extra €500, 000 of funding and support has been added to the next fund. the arthur guinness fund re - opened for applications yesterday, tuesday, 1 november .
since establishing the arthur guinness fund in 2009, €7. 4m has been invested in the fund. this figure includes the €2. 5m allocated to the arthur guinness fund in ireland .
earlier this year, as part of the arthur’s day celebrations in september, guinness committed to adding a further €500, 000 to the arthur guinness fund .
to make the arthur guinness fund accessible to as wide a range of projects and initiatives as possible, applications are sought under two main categories .
firstly, established projects (termed as take - off projects), which have had proven working models in operation for two to five years and can demonstrate the long - term impact they are having in their communities, are eligible to receive financial support up to €100, 000. this funding will be provided over two years along with a comprehensive business - mentoring programme with a view to taking their work to the next level. this includes additional expertise and practical support from diageo ireland through workshops, seminars and training .
projects that have been established in the last two years (termed as start - up projects) are also invited to apply to receive up to €50, 000 in funding plus the professional mentoring support over two years. this award is specifically aimed at start - up projects that require a springboard to help turn their visions into a reality .
shaping the right environment for men to rebuild their self - esteem during unemployment, and much more .
“by supporting innovative and inspiring projects, the arthur guinness fund is providing a much - needed spark to bring about long - lasting positive change in our society. as we now enter the third year, it is really exciting to be able to see and be inspired by the tangible results of the arthur guinness fund, especially with the projects which are now entering their second year of the programme ,
said peter o’brien, corporate relations director, diageo western europe .
we recognise how difficult it can be for projects like these to secure funding and professional business mentoring. guinness is delighted to be able to support them both financially and through our bespoke support and mentoring programme in order to further the work they do in their communities ,
he said .
applications to the arthur guinness fund remain open until 5pm on wednesday, 30 november 2011. those interested in applying can download an application form from the arthur guinness fund website .
vitartes – a web platform which enables in care patients to remain connected with their families, friends and the outside world .
suas – a service learning programme for young irish people to help them become the leaders of the future .
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foodcloud makes the redistribution of surplus food as easy as possible, matching businesses with too much food, with charities in their community that have too little, tackling food waste and food poverty in the process .
the irish men’s sheds association was established with the purpose of supporting the development and sustainability of men’s sheds on the island of ireland, advancing the health and well - being of all its members .
giy (grow it yourself) ireland is on a mission to encourage people from all walks of life and of all ages to grow their own food and to provide them with the practical skills they need to do so successfully .
“i was a mother with two children, a lawyer, and a not - so - bad golf player. one day i went to my gp because my handwriting was getting smaller and my fingers started to shake on my right hand. a week later i was diagnosed with parkinson’s. they told me it was degenerative, progressive and incurable. i was devastated. i cried on the couch for months. eventually i thought to myself, i should stop crying and do something about this. there must be another way! i was never the sort of person who gives up on things easily, you see. so i spent the next eight years working out what parkinson’s was about. i started blogging about my experiences around the same time because people wanted to hear my story. in the following months, it made it into the top 40 recommended medical blogs in the us. but i was very frustrated that there was nothing going on in ireland at the time. one evening i set up a charity page, designed the logo and named it move for parkinson’s. as einstein says, ‘nothing happens until something moves. ’ and it proved to be true; with life, with research, and with parkinson’s too .
“parkinson’s really hits me at times not only physically, but mentally. there are times i get into a very low and sad mood for hours, and it’s very hard to get back from it. the medication doesn’t lift me out from there anyway, what the doctors never tell you is about the toolbox i use to get me out from that dark place. i went to move for parkinson’s where they told me about the importance of that toolbox. it’s filled with things that makes me happy, pictures of my grandkids and my parents, pictures i had of being on holidays, notes of achievements, a pressed flower from my grandson, a couple of little stones and rocks i would have picked up that bring me back to a place where things were happy. little things. this is a way of moving your mind just the way you have to move your body when you exercise. your brain senses that you were happy and it lifts you back. maybe not straight away but you can sense that this won’t last forever. you have to move everything. taking the medications is certainly only a part of the story! ”
is a non - profit international educational organisation dedicated to delivering real impact through technology by inspiring and empowering a young generation to improve their own life opportunities .
our vision is a world - class technology - enabled education accessible to all .
computers are loaded with educational content along with an offline copy of wikipedia for education. other resources such as rachel repository and khan academy video resources are available through content servers when deployed.
camara is a social enterprise that sends refurbished computers and provides digital literacy training to schools and other educational institutions in ethiopia , kenya , rwanda , zambia , uganda , lesotho , tanzania , jamaica , haiti and ireland . it was set up in 2005 in dublin , ireland and has since grown with offices in the united kingdom and the united states . since 2005 , camara has raised and generated € 20m , trained 24,000 teachers across 4,000 elearning centres , and installed 80,000 computers , enabling 1,800,000 children to become digitally literate and attain better grades . 
camara is a social enterprise that sends refurbished computers and provides digital literacy training to schools and other educational institutions in ethiopia, kenya, rwanda, zambia, uganda, lesotho, tanzania, jamaica, haiti and ireland. it was set up in 2005 in dublin, ireland and has since grown with offices in the united kingdom and the united states. since 2005, camara has raised and generated € 20m, trained 24,000 teachers across 4,000 elearning centres, and installed 80,000 computers, enabling 1,800,000 children to become digitally literate and attain better grades.
camara is a social enterprise that sends refurbished computers and provides digital literacy training to schools and other educational institutions in ethiopia, kenya, rwanda, zambia, uganda, lesotho, tanzania, jamaica, haiti and ireland. it was set up in 2005 in dublin, ireland and has since grown with offices in the united kingdom and the united states. since 2005, camara has raised and generated € 20m, trained 24,000 teachers across 4,000 elearning centres, and installed 80,000 computers, enabling 1,800,000 children to become digitally literate and attain better grades.