Samuel J. Klein, director of content for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative, will keynote the second day of the Serious Games Summit GDC 2007 (SGS GDC) March 5-6 in San Francisco. Klein’s presentation will explore the potential of the OLPC initiative as a serious gaming platform to address the educational and practical applications of videogames.

The non-profit OLPC designs, manufactures and distributes inexpensive laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to a modern education. Klein’s keynote speech shall focus on the hardware, operating system, and game development support the laptops that will debut later this year. Klein will also address the strategies for learning through play that the OLPC team is formulating.

“We are excited to have the charismatic S.J. Klein helm the second day of proceedings at this year’s SGS GDC,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Digitalmill, and SGS GDC content chair. “Education is a key component within the serious games industry, and the dedicated and creative team at OLPC is working to conquer the technology divide in education and access to information.”

“S.J. represents a powerfully altruistic movement in the technology industry, and offers game developers a compelling opportunity to effect positive change in the world,” said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC. “The OLPC platform offers access to not only practical game development, but the ability to extend the online discourse and interactivity we all take for granted to isolated and impoverished children all over the planet.”

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