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Published on
9 Nov 2012
9 Nov 2012
The innovative non-profit foundation Raspberry Pi has received an Internet and Society Award from the Oxford Internet Institute, in recognition of its exemplary efforts in using the Internet for the public good in Britain.
The innovative non-profit foundation Raspberry Pi has received an Internet and Society Award from the Oxford Internet Institute, in recognition of its exemplary efforts in using the Internet for the public good in Britain.
Raspberry Pi has developed an affordable, approachable pocket-sized computer that is already providing today’s children with unparalleled opportunities for learning to program. Digital computing and the Internet, with all the current emphasis on touch-screen visual cues and icons has for many become abstract and remote; with the advent of the Raspberry Pi we now have a credit-card sized computer we can hold in our hands and play with, reminding us of our capacity to tinker with technology, and the inherent mutability of the Internet itself.
Pete Lomas, Founder and Trustee at Raspberry Pi, said: “One of the key aims of Raspberry Pi is to allow children to taste software and electronic engineering across a broad spectrum of computing. From low level hardware interfacing through the full gamut of opportunities presented by web connectivity on an open and extensible platform.”
“Our vision is to engage children in the underlying technology that enriches the Internet and in turn people’s lives. I am honoured to receive this prestigious award from the Oxford Internet Institute on behalf of everyone in the foundation.”
The award was presented on 9 November in Oxford, at an awards dinner and ceremony that also included an Internet and Society Award for Jennifer Pahlka, and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Yochai Benkler.
OII Director, Professor Helen Margetts said: “We are delighted to make this award to Raspberry Pi whose generous-spirited innovation will help to ensure that the next Internet generation comes to appreciate the satisfaction to be gained from digital making and tinkering.”
The concept and prototypes behind the Raspberry Pi were developed between 2006 and 2008 by Eben Upton and colleagues at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, the project triggered by a perceived lack of computing skills amongst university applicants. The resulting device, which costs around £25, went into mass production in 2011 and hundreds of thousands have already been sold. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK registered charity.