His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium refurbishes Close the Gap's 500,000th donated computer

Posted on Feb 18, 2016 12:00 AM by Close The Gap

Mechelen, Belgium - Today, Close the Gap and Arrow Value Recovery welcomed His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium to celebrate an important milestone: the refurbishment of the 500,000th donated computer at Arrow Value Recovery`s Mechelen facility.

HM King Philippe was invited to witness the refurbishment of the symbolic 500,000th computer after receiving a guided tour learning about how the donated computers and mobile devices undergo rigorous data erasure protection and refurbishing measures in preparation for redeployment to local and international beneficiary projects.

HM King Philippe followed the tour by meeting with Close the Gap’ stakeholders - partners, beneficiaries and donors, among them representatives from DNS.be, Deloitte Belgium, KBC Bank, Proximus, Recupel and Agoria. The group discussed the role ICT can play in socio-circular economy environments, creating sustainable jobs and reaching the most vulnerable communities living without electricity.

The event ended with a short visit to Close the Gap’s Digitruck - a mobile, solar-powered, multi-purpose IT unit that aims to bridge the digital divide for learners from vulnerable and rural communities. Arrow Value Recovery sponsored the first Digitruck, bringing IT literacy for orphans in rural Tanzania.

"From the moment that Digitruck arrived and classes began, a new energy came into the orphanage and Uru village. Tuleeni Orphanage Center has become a sign of hope and life line to safety for the people and they started showing up by the dozen looking to get a spot in the one of our classes! The demand has been so high, we started a waitlist for locals wanting to going back to school to get a second chance at life through education. The Digitruck has been a huge transformation across the village." - Ms. Mandy Stein, Neema International

The second Digitruck was recently delivered to a township in Cape Town with support of Deloitte.

The cooperation between Arrow and CTG started over a decade ago. Together, they are bridging the digital gap by providing schools, clinics and micro-credit projects in developing countries with refurbished IT equipment.

"I was humbled by the opportunity to share this moment with His Majesty King Philippe. HM continues to serve as a source of encouragement for social entrepreneurship, job creation, and the circular economy. It was personally moving to witness the exchange between our stakeholders - beneficiary partners, donors, service partners and strategic partners - together with His Majesty. This meeting is a strong testament to the power of collaboration." - Olivier Vanden Eynde, Founder and Managing Director, Close the Gap.

"We feel honored by HM King Philippe’s visit to Arrow’s Value Recovery facilities and that we were able to show him our great work and cooperation with Close the Gap", said Mark Majeske, President Arrow Value Recovery. "We are working on every front to do the ethical, responsible thing when it comes to electronics. Responsible recycling is an important piece of the value chain, but much of the value from electronics can be realized up-stream - long before assets are sent to recycling. We live and breathe the circular economy."

Close the Gap is grateful for the attendance of HM King Philippe and all of the special guests in celebration of the milestone reached. The day was a success and it would not have been possible without the presence of Close the Gap's partners, business leaders and project beneficiaries that all play a vital role in bridging the digital divide.

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