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Microsoft Highlights Broad Partnerships and Introduces New Technology Capacity-Building Initiatives
17 November 2005
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that, as part of its continued commitment to apply information and communication technology (ICT) as a driver of social and economic development around the world, it would be a signatory of the World Summit on Information Society's (WSIS) "Pledge to Connect the World" -- with the aim of increasing digital connectivity to 1 billion people by 2015. The pledge will be introduced on the first day of the WSIS conference in Tunisia, and supported by leaders representing government, the private sector and civil society.
The second phase of WSIS, organised by the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union, will foster a multi-stakeholder approach to enable millions of people to take advantage of opportunities in the digital economy.
"Since WSIS I, we have set a goal to extend our ICT capacity building efforts to a quarter of a billion people over the next five years, and at WSIS II we are supporting the broader Connect the World pledge of connecting 1 billion people by 2015," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International. "We believe that through innovative public-private partnerships tailored to meet a community's needs, both targets are achievable and worthy endeavours."
"Without question, ICT represents an increasingly key driver for social and economic change, particularly in rural regions around the world," said Amir Dossal, executive director of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships. "The combination of creative ideas and assets that multinational companies bring to the table are instrumental in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and ensure that ICT can improve the day-to-day lives of more people around the world."
Microsoft at WSIS II
Enhancing programmes in place since WSIS I in 2003, Microsoft and its partners will announce new initiatives and share initiative results in cooperation with United Nations agencies, international organisations and governments. These include a collaborative project with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to establish an InfoYouth centre that will serve as an IT hub for North Africa; the launch of telecentre.org, a global community technology centre support network in partnership with the International Development Research Centre and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; and the extension of existing Microsoft education programmes, the African Pathfinder Blueprint for Schools and Innovative Teachers Network.
At WSIS II, Microsoft and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will sign an agreement to extend Pathfinder to a further nine African countries. The programme demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals by providing sustainable solutions for education and communities. After the successful implementation in Namibia of sustainable, scalable solutions to help accelerate education and development, the network of countries and partners who aim to use the Pathfinder programme will grow to include Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"As a global community, we have made tremendous strides since WSIS I and, together, we will continue to help facilitate efforts that afford more people around the world greater opportunities based on increasing access to IT and skills training," said Pamela Passman, Microsoft vice president of Corporate Global Affairs. "We are excited about the new programmes we will be introducing at WSIS II and sharing the strong results of existing programmes more broadly, and look forward to the cooperation and information sharing that will take place at the event."
Attending as a member of the International Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft will display an interactive exhibition space at WSIS II, underscoring efforts in the areas of citizenship, public sector development, innovation and emerging markets. Microsoft will also emphasise the depth of its growing global partnerships, including exhibits at the UNESCO booth on accessibility and demonstration of the Microsoft(R) Innovative Teachers Network, which will be available in Arabic, English, French, German and Portuguese.
Bridging the Gap
Microsoft's efforts to advance digital inclusion revolve around a comprehensive, long-term investment to provide ICT access, education and skills training that enable people to embrace new opportunities and play a role in today's knowledge economy. The following Microsoft programmes have seen solid results and will continue to provide benefits to wider audiences in the coming years.
Microsoft has three initiatives that aim to foster education and improve skills. Partners in Learning delivers teacher and student skills development, comprehensive IT curriculum development and increases access to the latest computer technologies. To date, Microsoft has signed agreements with 99 countries and reached 8.3 million students through Partners in Learning. Unlimited Potential supports community-based IT skills training for the underserved, including the unemployed, elderly, people with disabilities and refugees. The programme, which offers a basic IT curriculum in 12 different languages, supports more than 500 projects in 95 countries to aid global workforce progress and development, including over 20,000 community technology learning centres. African Pathfinder is a blueprint for implementing ICT in education at a national level, in a scalable, sustainable way and includes curriculum from both the Partners in Learning and Unlimited Potential programmes. The blueprint will be adopted by a further nine African countries in the Pathfinder Network.
Microsoft has created a number of programmes with the aim of creating shared innovation across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The US$1.2 million Digital Inclusion funding opportunity, announced 20 Oct 2005 by Microsoft Research in partnership with non-governmental organisations, empowers academic researchers worldwide to tackle technological challenges to improve health, education and socio-economic conditions. The Microsoft Research Cambridge "Inspire" Programme, launched in the second half of 2005, will provide support and recognition of the research communities in developing countries, as well as partner engagement with independent software vendors on research projects in support of local IT industry. The Microsoft Technology Development Centre in Belgrade, opened in September 2005, focuses on continuing expansion of language support for Central and Eastern Europe.
Microsoft is also supporting programmes that facilitate access to tools and information. Yesterday, the company introduced the Arabic version of Windows(R) XP Starter Edition, which is designed to meet the needs of beginner PC users in developing countries. Following on the recent introduction of this platform in Turkish and Urdu, Windows XP Starter Edition is now available in 32 countries. The Microsoft Authorised Refurbishers programme provides a low-cost solution to refurbish desktop technology in communities across 133 countries, issuing almost 22,000 licences. The Microsoft Local Language Program facilitates translation of software to help bridge the language barriers and digital divide that exists between the developed and emerging markets, and preserve language and culture. To date, there are 31 Windows XP Language Interface Packs and 21 Office 2003 Standard Edition Language Interface Packs. To date, Microsoft has signed long-term agreements with 29 countries across EMEA, relating to collaboration on security, licenses, education and technology-sharing initiatives.
For Microsoft, partnering for development is a core part of our corporate citizenship commitment. The company works with the following inter- and non-governmental organisations helping them serve local needs and address local challenges:
- UNDP: Microsoft is partnering with UNDP to determine how technology
can support the UNDP development goals, including the extension of
the Unlimited Potential programme to ten countries to deliver
skills training and other ICT resources.
- UNDP -- Information Communication Technologies for Development in
Arab Region (ICTDAR): in the Middle East, the new e-Gov@ASP,portal,
based on the Microsoft Solution Sharing Network, will give
governments across the region access to the most effective
e-government solutions.
- UNDP -- Southern African Capacity Initiative (SACI): In Africa,
Microsoft is participating to facilitate e-government initiatives,
and help build basic services delivery through its education
programmes, such as the Pathfinder Blueprint for Schools. This
provides a step-by-step guide for governments in countries
underserved by technology to integrate ICT into national
educational strategies.
- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC): Microsoft will donate software licenses to the
National Societies in the least developed countries in Africa and
the Middle East, provide training to aid workers and offer pro-bono
consulting by Microsoft employee volunteers.
- UNESCO: Microsoft assesses how ICT can be used to help reduce
poverty and ensure greater digital inclusion, including the
integration of IT in teacher training in Asia and the launch of
community technology centres for young people in North Africa.
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Microsoft
was involved in the development and rollout in Guinea, Kenya,
Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda of Project PROFILE
- a standard platform for recording refugee data at UNHCR field
operations. Microsoft also supports UNHCR by providing IT training
opportunities for refugees in community technology learning centres
in Dadaab, Kenya -- where it is hoped that 30,000 Somali refugees
will gain access to IT skills training -- and St Petersburg,
Russia.
- The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD): Microsoft
leads one of four consortia that deploy and operate ICT solutions
for approximately 20 schools at their own cost. The aim of the
project overall is to connect 600,000 schools throughout Africa to
the internet, overcoming the major barriers to entry: cost and lack
of basic infrastructure.
- Organization of American States (OAS): Microsoft has a longstanding
partnership with OAS, focused on e-government and education
solutions. Recently they have collaborated in Partnership in
Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas
(POETA) to provide technology job retraining and job placement
assistance to youth and adults with disabilities at centres located
throughout Latin America.
For additional information regarding Microsoft activities at WSIS, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/wsis .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 12,000 people in over 55 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.
This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting any kind of warranty.
NOTE: Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Web site: http://www.microsoft.com
Source: PR Newswire Europe
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