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Today at the Social Innovation Summit students from Germany, Australia, Egypt, Uganda and Ukraine are taking the next step in bringing their smart ideas for addressing real social issues to market. They are winners of the second annual Imagine Cup Grants, a three-year, $3 million competitive grant program that is part of our YouthSpark initiative and provides funding and support to help them transform their technology project into a business or social enterprise.
So what problems are this year’s winners solving?
All the grant winners were finalists in this year’s Imagine Cup, the world’s most prestigious student technology competition which brings together student innovators from all over the world. The Imagine Cup Grants program helps the winning students turn their ideas into reality by creating a business or social enterprise.
Christian Brüggemann from Team Graphmasters explains how the Imagine Cup and the grants program work together:
“The Imagine Cup was the catalyst for our team to create nunav… (The Imagine Cup Grants) give us the opportunity to expand our project and bring it to market. As mobile phone adoption becomes more prevalent around the world, it presents a perfect way for nunav to help fight traffic and carbon emissions.”
In addition to the cash awards totaling $325,000, the grant packages include software, cloud computing services, solution provider support, premium Microsoft BizSpark account benefits and access to local resources such as Microsoft Innovation Centers. We will also connect grant recipients with our network of investors, nongovernmental organization partners and business partners and will work with the grant recipients to tailor individual support as needed depending on the progress each team has made so far with its project.
The grants winners battled against 40 other Imagine Cup teams who applied for the grants. They were chosen by a judging panel of industry experts with knowledge spanning technology, venture capitalism, software development, startup culture and the nonprofit sector ranked each team based on specific criteria, including project impact and viability and team quality and motivation. The judges included:
You can follow the Social Innovation Summit on Twitter at #SIS12.
Read more about the winning teams here.
Team Graphmasters nunav applications (Screenshot courtesy of Team Graphmasters)
More information and resources on Microsoft YouthSpark and Imagine Cup:
The Imagine Cup Grants are part of Microsoft YouthSpark, a global initiative that aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth in more than 100 countries during the next three years. This companywide initiative includes Citizenship and other company programs — both new and enhanced — that empower youth to imagine and realize their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship. Find out more at: http://www.microsoft.com/youthspark.
This year marks the 11th year of Imagine Cup, which will be celebrated at the worldwide finals in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 8–12, 2013. Students ages 16 and older are eligible to register and compete in Imagine Cup 2013 by visiting the Imagine Cup website at http://www.imaginecup.com. A full list of competitions and challenges are listed at http://imaginecup.com/main/compete. In the past decade, more than 1.65 million students from 190 countries have registered to compete for cash and other prizes.
You can read about last year’s grant recipients here.
Editor’s note: Today we’re announcing support for the Cherokee language in Windows 8 as part of the Microsoft Local Language Program. The availability is a testament to the Cherokee Nation and their continued commitment to strengthen their language and sustain their culture for future generations.
By Carla Hurd, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Local Language Program
When your speaker base is shrinking and your culture as you know it will be lost forever, what do you do? The Cherokee Nation is no stranger to the concept of language preservation. They have been a leader and exemplary example to all. This wasn’t always the case: a survey taken more than a decade ago found there were no Cherokees under the age of 40 considered conversational. Today, they have a speaker base of about 16,000. They knew that in order to sustain their language and culture for future generations, that’s exactly who they needed to start with – future generations.
When a language declines it usually starts with younger generations; they do not speak the language, then their children don’t speak the language, and so on. Before you know it, a small group of elders are the last speakers, and then the language goes extinct. This is not the case with Cherokee. The Cherokee Nation took action. As a result in 2001, they invested in Cherokee language immersion schools starting with preschool. This provided an environment for their children to be exposed to the language and culture while using it as part of their everyday activities, including technology. In the school, there is no English allowed; only Cherokee is spoken. Those children who first started in the immersion charter school are now in 7th grade, still continuing their Cherokee education and embracing their culture.
Today technology is deeply integrated into our everyday lives – if that technology is not provided in the user’s native tongue, then they will use whatever language is accessible to them. That is why Microsoft believed it was important to work with the Cherokee Nation Language Team on creating access to our products in their language.
The journey began over three years ago and as a result, we are pleased to provide a Language Interface Pack (LIP) for Windows in the Cherokee Language. This LIP translates and displays most of the commonly used user interface of Windows into Cherokee. Part of the process presented challenges as there were many terms which did not exist in the Cherokee language. When terminology did not exist, the translation team had to rely on elders or ancient texts for reference in order to assist in creating a new word as required for the translation. In addition, a new modern sans-serif user interface font Gadugi - the Cherokee word for “working together” - was developed to allow the localization and maintain the Windows 8 design style. This font supplements the more traditional Plantagenet Cherokee font that’s been part of Windows since Windows Vista.
The Windows 8 settings screen in Cherokee
More about the Microsoft Local Language Program
The Microsoft Local Language Program provides people access to technology in a familiar language while respecting linguistic and cultural distinctions. The program bridges the gap to technology through language and culture as well as empowers individuals in local communities to create economic opportunities, build IT skills, enhance education outcomes, and sustain their local language and culture for future generations.
For more information on the Microsoft Local Language Program please visit http://microsoft.com/LLP.
The Reputation Institute has released the results of a study that interviewed 47,000 consumers across 15 countries to discover the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on their perceptions of a company and its products.
Kasper Ulf Nielsen, executive partner at the Reputation Institute’s commented in a report in Forbes:
“CSR speaks to who the company is, what it believes in and how it is doing business… Companies that are able to get recognition for the softer sides of their business are on the right path to building a sustainable business for the future.”
As part of the study, the Reputation Institute ranked the top ten corporations with the best CSR reputations. Along with Microsoft, Google, Disney, BMW, Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Sony, Colgate-Palmolive and the LEGO Group made the top ten. You can find out more about the study here.
Microsoft’s approach to corporate citizenship
At the recent COMMIT!Forum in New York, Dan Bross, senior director of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Microsoft, provided a brief overview of Microsoft’s approach to corporate citizenship, from our YouthSpark initiative to our commitments on carbon neutrality and human rights.
During the World Economic Forum in January, we hosted a roundtable discussion with experts from around the globe to discuss the challenges facing young people around the world.
Also during the World Economic Forum, representatives of the first teams to win Imagine Cup Grants met with Microsoft Founder and Chairman Bill Gates to discuss their projects. Left to right: Francisco Perez from Ecuador, Dominik Tomičević from Croatia, Bill Gates, Mohammad Lu’ay Alazzam from Jordan, and Jason Mitsuyuki Wakizaka from the United States.
Mohammad Lu’ay Alazzam from Team OaSys, based in Jordan, discussed their project with Bill. Horizon is a software and hardware system that allows people who do not have use of their hands/arms to use a computer. Specifically, it tracks head movements and translates these movements into mouse movements. Users get full control of a computer and a cellphone, and can browse the internet, type and connect with ease and at a low cost.
In January, Skype showcased their Disaster Response platform.
In March we held our first Innovate for Good event on our campus in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft Innovate for Good, a Microsoft YouthSpark program, is a global community enabling youth to collaborate, inspire and support each other while using technology to make a difference in their communities.
Some of the Microsoft Citizenship team participating in the #CSRChat on Twitter in April.
In April, Innovate for Good visits Egypt.
James Rooney shows a Windows tablet at the Microsoft Citizenship booth at the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco in April.
In May, Innovate for Good reached Singapore.
And then Innovate for Good moved on to Brussels.
In June we made the Local Impact Map available to nonprofits.
In August we partnered with National Journal and The Atlantic to host town halls at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions focused on discussing the issues facing America’s young and emerging workforce.
In June, we held an Innovate For Good event in Beijing.
On September 20th we announced Microsoft YouthSpark, our companywide initiative to create opportunities for 300 million young people around the world over the next three years. You can find out more about Microsoft YouthSpark here.
In September we hosted an engaging panel at the Mashable Social Good Summit in New York, focused on helping close the opportunity divide among the world’s young people. Along with Lori Harnick, General Manager or Citizenship & Public Affairs at Microsoft were Mari Kuraishi, co-founder and president of GlobalGiving Foundation, Microsoft Researcher danah boyd, and Mary Mwende and Anthony Carmona, two inspirational young people whose diverse, personal experiences illustrate how together we can help youth succeed.
On September 27th Microsoft launched a detailed whitepaper documenting ideas for a National Talent Strategy that would help secure U.S. competitiveness and economic growth at an event at the Brookings Institution.
In September, 5,000 Microsoft employees volunteered for this year’s United Way Day of Caring, supporting over 200 projects. Here’s some of the Citizenship team hard at work.
October is the month of Giving at Microsoft when our people in the United States show their passion and commitment to the nonprofits and community groups they support. The first large scale event is traditionally the 5K run – this year over just under 3,000 people ran, jogged and strolled along the course raising money for their chosen nonprofit. The youngest participant was Mackenzie Croswell who was just 4 weeks old. Here's Mom (Lorna Croswell) and Mackenzie at the start line (Thanks to Mackenzie’s dad John Croswell for sharing).
The Cats of Microsoft calendar is just one, albeit a popular one, of thousands of innovative ways Microsoft employees raise funds during our month of Giving every October.
In October we had a special event with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Chairman and Founder Bill Gates to commemorate Microsoft’s 30th Employee Giving Campaign during a special town hall event. It included the announcement that Microsoft employees have raised $1 billion in cash since 1983 for more than 31,000 nonprofits and community organizations in the U.S. and around the world.
In October, we released our 2012 Citizenship Report.
Also in October, Windows 8 launched around the world, and it’s now available to nonprofits via the Microsoft software donations program.
In November, as part of Microsoft YouthSpark, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron along with Luke Hennerley, David Robertson, Cheyenne Brown, Ben Freeman and Charlie Gilbert announced Get On outside 10 Downing Street. Get On aims to help 300,000 unemployed young people in the UK.
Also during November, as part of the launch of YouthSpark in Argentina, Microsoft's Brad Smith met with the board of Argentinean nonprofit Fundacion Equidad to witness the great work it is doing providing IT skills and job placement for youth. He also met with beneficiaries Florencia Ordoñez, Jonathan Quaranta, and Marcos Bogarin. The YouthSpark grant to Fundacion Equidad will support 5,000 beneficiaries in Argentina.
In what will hopefully become a new tradition, November 25th was the very first Giving Tuesday.
In December, the the second annual Imagine Cup Grant winners were announced at the Social Innovation Summit in Mountain View, California. The teams, which came from Germany, Australia, Egypt, Uganda and Ukraine, spent the week meeting advisors, venture capitalists and social entrepreneurs, while still managing to fit in some sightseeing in San Francisco and Seattle.
In December, we announced that Windows 8 is now available in the Cherokee language.
Today, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton launched the Office of Global Youth Issues’ Startup Youth Initiative via a video message during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Startup Youth will provide entrepreneurship programs and events in conjunction with the private sector to facilitate opportunities for young entrepreneurs to actualize their ideas, helping promote individual prosperity, job creation and economic growth in communities worldwide.
The first event under the Startup Youth Initiative will be a joint Innovate for Good event we're co-hosting with the State Department.
Innovate for Good is a Microsoft YouthSpark program that enables youth to collaborate, inspire and support each other while using technology to make a difference in their communities and provides the tools and resources needed to bring their ideas to reality.
Each event will begin with a speaker series that will focus on youth and entrepreneurship, led and moderated by Zeenat Rahman, the Secretary’s Special Adviser on Global Youth Issues, followed by a day-long Microsoft Innovate for Good workshop. Young innovators will spend the day learning skills on how to present and pitch ideas, hearing from leading social innovation and entrepreneurship experts, and leading ideas generated at these events will be "on-boarded" into the Innovate for Good online community where subsequent training and resources will be provided to help these potential ventures become reality.
The inaugural program event, which will occur under the auspices of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit’s Young Entrepreneur Forum, will feature Special Adviser Zeenat Rahman, Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Microsoft Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, and a leading young entrepreneur, who will discuss the role of partnerships in facilitating the advancement of young entrepreneurs.
Following the high level speaker series, a day-long Innovate for Good workshop will be held on December 13, 2012 at the Microsoft Dubai Training Center.
Akhtar Badshah, Ambassador Corbin and and Zeenat Rahman at today’s event in Dubai
For updates on the Startup Youth Initiative, follow it on Twitter: @zeenat, #startup_youth and #GlobalYouth.
For more information on the Office of Global Youth Issues, please visit http://www.state.gov/globalyouth or https://www.facebook.com/GlobalYouthIssues