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Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2010

  • Work on this object began.

2013

  • Work on this object ended.

2016

2025

  • You found it!

Digital Drum

This is a Project. It was designed by UNICEF Technology for Development team, Khalid Arbab and Sharad Sapra. It is dated 2010–2013. Its medium is steel oil drum, steel bar stock, steel sheet, threaded bars, plexiglas, sealant, nuts/bolts, bicycle inner-tube (seal), car inner-tube (laptop fastening), weatherproof keyboard, laptops, solar panel (3x55w), charge controller, battery.

Access to information through the Internet is an important tool in empowering individuals, combating corruption, and promoting good governance in cities. In 2010, UNICEF Uganda representative Sharad Sapra and his team devised a simple, cost-effective way to bridge the digital divide. The creative team developed a rugged solar-powered computer kiosk called the Digital Drum. Built affordably with readily available materials, the first prototype was created in a car-repair shop in Kampala using oil drums, basic angle grinders, and a metal arc welder, with weatherproof the keyboards and laptops with inner tubes and sealant. UNICEF plans more Drums, which will include critical information such as the national education curriculum and school-safety guidelines.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/420778915/ |title=Digital Drum |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>