All the World’s Major Problems and Their Solutions

Elena Simons’ second book appeared in October 2007. In only 120 colorfully designed pages, she explains why mankind is in serious danger, how we can solve the problems we face and most importantly, why every single reader has a role to play. The design and use of language are accessible to a wide audience, with the goal of popularizing the idea of making the world a better place.


A few excerpts:
“There is a chance everything can still turn out all right, and I want to improve that chance. How? Little by little, I can replace the bad things I do in my life with good things. And I can help inform other people who want to do the same.
You might turn out to mean something incredible for the world. Maybe you will save twenty thousand lives. Or launch a revolution at the oil company where you work. Or see to the future of the panda or invent a way to make the deserts fertile or simply be very nice to the people around you or sometimes use public transportation instead of taking the car. These are all very worthwhile things to do. And maybe there is something in this book that will inspire you or back you up. That would make me very happy because it would mean I did what I set out to do.“


One Laptop Per Child
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) aims to provide a laptop for every poor child in the world. The first OLPC laptops were produced in 2006. The laptops are sturdy, can be wound up by turning a crank, are easy for children to use and are connected to broadband Internet. The laptops have a 500 MHz processor and a 500 MB memory. And all that for only 77 euros.

OLPC can keep the laptop price down because of the huge orders that have come in. Nigeria, Brazil, Libya, Rwanda and Argentina have already purchased millions of laptops to distribute to their children.

Just imagine how children in poor regions will soon be learning arithmetic, English and computer programming and how to set up a business. In the world’s chat rooms, children will chat with their peers all across the globe and discover what the rest of the planet earth is like. Mom and Dad will be asking their children all kinds of questions. In no time, Junior will find the weather forecast, the best fertilization method or the promises made by political parties.

It is OLPC’s aim to have sold 150 million laptops by 2050. Teaching material will be needed. I propose instructional videos featuring the world’s most inspiring teachers and professors. The videos can be synchronized in any number of languages or a local interpreter can stand next to the laptop and translate live for an audience.”

All the World’s Major Problems and Their Solutions was published in Dutch by renowned literary publisher Querido in collaboration with Oxfam Netherlands. So far twelve thousand copies have sold. The author is looking out for publishers in other countries to bring out translations in English, Chinese and all other languages that concerned citizens of this world speak.