AMCHAM Thailand Partners with BMA and Google to Bridge the Digital Divide in Education via the Sustainable Digital Classroom Initiative

Program will improve teaching and learning at Thai schools in an environmentally-friendly manner, by accepting donations of old computers which will be revived with ChromeOS Flex

Bangkok, July 13, 2023: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has joined forces with Google, the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) and other private sectors to bridge the digital divide in education. Together, the partners will launch the Sustainable Digital Classroom initiative for BMA-affiliated schools, gathering donations of old computers from enterprises in Thailand and reviving them with ChromeOS Flex for use in the schools. AMCHAM is in charge of collecting donations from its members while Google will offer its ChromeOS Flex solution to convert the old computers into fast and secure devices. Google will also provide free product training for each school.

The goal is to collect 130,000 donated devices in the next four years. These donated computers will be used to help create an active learning environment for students at 437 BMA-affiliated schools starting from Prathom 4 (Grade 4) to Mathayom 1 (Grade 7).

Chadchart Sittipunt, Bangkok Governor, said, “Improving the quality of education and public health is one of our top priorities as we are committed to delivering a better quality of life for Bangkok residents. Gathering donations of old computers from the general public and enterprises to support teaching and learning at BMA-affiliated schools is a win-win solution for both donors and recipients. It’s a great way to reduce electronic waste, which in this case is old computer devices that have been used for more than 3-5 years. The old devices will then be revived to help improve student learning capability while allowing teachers to incorporate technology into their active learning strategies. It will also help equip students with digital skills that will be useful to their future careers.

That’s why, BMA is pleased to partner with Google and the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand to help fulfill our vision by encouraging the general public and enterprises to support education and promote resource efficiency through donations of old computers. I believe this partnership will help us achieve our digital sustainability goal while addressing electronic waste in a sustainable way.”

Ornkanya Pibuldham, President, The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM), said, “Education has been a core value for AMCHAM since the Chamber was founded in 1956. Over the past three decades, AMCHAM has provided more than 3,100 scholarships, supported over 860 schools, and accounted for more than 190 million baht in education funding. Recognizing the importance of preserving the environment and improving educational opportunities for students, AMCHAM commits to actively promote the Sustainable Digital Classroom initiative to the foreign business community, and work with our members to achieve the goals set forth by the Bangkok Governor.”

Mike Jittivanich, Google’s Marketing Director for Brand & Reputation, Southeast Asia, said, "Supporting education and equitable digital access for Thais is one of the top priorities for Google in Thailand. Since the launch of the Be Internet Awesome program three years ago, we have trained over

3.4 million teachers and students and recently introduced ChromeOS Flex to the education sector earlier this year. This new collaboration is a mission that we actively pursue after the Be Internet Awesome program. Google will use ChromeOs Flex, a fast, secure, cloud-based operating system, to update and enhance the efficiency of old devices to increase the quality of teaching. It can be downloaded at no cost and it is easily manageable alongside existing Chromebooks.”

At this event, AIS and Ngern Tid Lor, as the first two donors, also announced their commitment to donate 300 devices to kick-start the donation drive. The companies plan to continuously donate their old devices over the next years to support this initiative.

The collaboration is part of Google Thailand’s commitment to Leave No Thai Behind, focusing on supporting education and bridging the digital divide so that Thais can experience all of the opportunities the internet has to offer. For the general public or enterprises wishing to donate computers that are no longer in use, please check out more details at https://digitalclassroom.bangkok.go.th/ and learn more about ChromeOS Flex at this LINK.

About AMCHAM Thailand

The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization. With 3,000 members representing over 600 American, Thai, and other international companies AMCHAM is the leading international business association in Thailand. Member companies have cumulatively invested over 50 billion US dollars in Thailand and provide more than 200,000 local jobs. If you would like to learn more about AMCHAM, please visit: www.amthamthailand.com or contact Varsha Wadhwani, AMCHAM Communications Specialist, at e-mail varsha@amchamthailand.com.