Microsoft Citizenship Blog

How technology can help local languages

2012-02-21T16:38:42Z

Today there are nearly 7,000 languages spoken around the world and scientists estimate that three languages become extinct every month and over half of all languages are in danger of becoming extinct before the end of this century. Just think of the knowledge and history that’s lost when a language dies. Today is UNESCO's International Mother Language Day and a great time to celebrate the importance of language to everyone around the world. There are many economic and cultural reasons why so...(read more)

Who Trained 100,000 People in 2011?

2012-02-17T08:01:00Z

Guest post by Ekaterina Fedotova, Director for “Your Course: Digital Literacy” (Tvoy Kurs) Project, PH International. Editor’s Note: Tvoy Kurs is Russian program, supported by Microsoft, that focuses on giving people the skills they need to use technology with a view to finding employment. Ekaterina Fedotova has kindly agreed to share some of the insights from their instructors who in 2011 trained a staggering 100,000 people. We did it! We trained 100,000 people in Russia during 2011 through...(read more)

Microsoft’s Software Donation Policy

2012-02-17T05:30:00Z

By Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft From time to time, we see stories about Microsoft contributing to nonprofit organizations that have views on public policy issues that are different than the company’s position. These types of stories naturally raise questions, so I wanted to take a moment to explain why this crops up every now and then. It boils down to a very simple explanation. Microsoft has a global nonprofit software donation program that provides...(read more)

How Microsoft Employees are helping the Community

2012-02-09T17:00:00Z

Jon Fine – CEO United Way of King County Bill Gates once said “It takes more than great products to make a great company.” It’s clear to pretty much everybody by now that Microsoft has that ” more” that Bill was talking about. Having been a partner with Microsoft for 30 years, United Way of King County has seen it first-hand. Our communities have benefited from Microsoft’s great vision, great passion, great generosity and most importantly, Microsoft’s great employees. After all, it is you who make...(read more)

Did you hear about our 35,500 employee philanthropists?

2012-02-08T14:08:00Z

We share one the best part-time jobs in the world. As co-chairs of the annual Microsoft Giving Campaign, we get the opportunity to see firsthand how our colleagues bring passion, creativity and generosity to raise much needed funds for community organizations around the globe. In 2010, we raised an outstanding $96 million. We wondered if we could go higher in 2011 and we did, knowing our employees would rise to the challenge. In 2011 Microsoft employees across the United States raised $100.5 million...(read more)

Microsoft Imagine Cup and Kodu Cup winners go to the White House

2012-02-07T22:02:00Z

Earlier today, three outstanding students, David Hayden, Hannah Wyman, and Jacen Sherman – winners of the Microsoft Imagine Cup and Kodu Cup student competitions – participated in the second annual White House Science Fair , hosted by President Barack Obama. David, Hannah and Jacen were among only 100 students selected to attend the event, which celebrated students that were winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the U.S....(read more)

Technology keeps the lights on at the American Shakespeare Center

2012-02-06T09:22:15Z

The downturn in the economy has heavily impacted theatres across the country, especially over the last three years. When budgets are hard hit, often one of the first things that’s impacted is echnology. “If we have to choose between hiring another actor or upgrading our software, we always pick the actor,” says Amy Wratchford, managing director of the American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton, Virginia. But while the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it ” adage has its merits, making do with outdated...(read more)

Meet the Imagine Cup students turned social entrepreneurs

2012-01-27T15:00:00Z

This week Dominik Tomičević from Croatia, Jason Mitsuyuki Wakizaka from the United States, Francisco Perez from Ecuador, and Mohammad Lu’ay Alazzam from Jordan were playing with the very latest Microsoft technology – in this case our new Microsoft Surface - in Davos, the Swiss village that hosts the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. They were in Davos as representatives of the four teams who have been chosen as the inaugural recipients of the Microsoft Imagine Cup grants program. ...(read more)

Skype’s Disaster Response Platform

2012-01-26T06:00:00Z

At the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, we’re hosting the Microsoft Vision Center a dedicated facility that not only showcases the latest technology from Microsoft and our partners, but also shows how technology is being used to address many of the world’s most pressing problems. One of the most visually interesting demonstrations at the center is an offering from Skype in partnership with emergency.lu which addresses the challenge of worldwide rapid response capacity and preparedness for...(read more)

Microsoft Vision Center in Davos

2012-01-25T22:00:00Z

This week the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 is taking place in Davos, Switzerland. The event attracts government, business, academic and nonprofit leaders from around the world who come together to learn, share ideas and engage in debates on the pressing economic and social issues facing countries around the world. This year, we are hosting the Microsoft Vision Center in Davos. It’s a dedicated facility that showcases the latest technology from Microsoft and our partners from PCs...(read more)

Building a technology backbone for global health impact

2012-01-18T14:00:00Z

by Erik Arnold, chief information officer at PATH. In a conference room in Zambia, David Lubinski scribbles annotations with a stylus across a tablet computer, his movements creating red lines and boxes on the image projected on the screen behind him. His audience is Zambian health officials tasked with designing a stronger logistics management information system for their country. The participants eagerly offer improvements for how the process model should be revised to accurately depict each step...(read more)

The nonprofit productivity battle: have you tried OneNote?

2012-01-12T18:02:00Z

One of the primary reasons we have a software donations program is to give nonprofit organizations access to the latest Microsoft products to help them succeed with the perennial challenge of trying to do more with less. In a world where we’re all faced with managing ever growing volumes of information with shorter deadlines, anything that helps your productivity has to be welcomed and one of the best weapons in your arsenal should be Microsoft OneNote . OneNote is part of the Microsoft...(read more)

TEDx: Harnessing disruptive change for good

2012-01-09T18:39:00Z

Recently at TedXRainier at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Akhtar Badshah gave a talk on how technology and the disruption that often comes from new technology can be channeled for good. You can watch Akhtar's talk below....(read more)

Two stories from Asia: how education is changing

2011-12-29T13:00:00Z

Over a thousand miles and close to forty years separate Khun Mechai Viravaidya and Raj Ridwan Singh yet they have so much in common. Khun Mechai is a world renowned development expert who founded Population and Community Development Association (PDA) which has become the largest nonprofit in Thailand. Khun Mechai is affectionately known as Mr. Condom since he launched the drive to raise awareness around population control and HIV AIDS. He has been both a minister and a senator and has played a significant...(read more)

Social Innovation in China

2011-12-22T15:04:38Z

By Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft On my recent trip to China I visited the Non Profit Incubator (NPI) which is a nonprofit that promotes social innovation and cultivates social entrepreneurs in China by providing crucial support to start-up and small to medium sized grassroots NGOs and Social Enterprises. I was very impressed that in China now we have a nonprofit incubator and an incubation park that is focused on strengthening the nonprofit and social...(read more)

Empowering Women to Foster Rebuilding Activities after Disasters

2011-12-21T04:45:44Z

By Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft In Tokyo last week I met with Sakurai San who heads the National Council of Women’s Centers in Japan. We were discussing how they were coping after the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami that many of their members had to endure last March. Rebuilding after such devastation according to Sakurai San was particularly challenging and especially difficult for women. This was particularly true in Japan where the...(read more)

Making Santa accessible in Seattle this weekend

2011-12-15T21:33:45Z

There is a special holiday event taking place in Seattle this Sunday, December 18th from 11am to 3pm. The Microsoft Store in the University Village in Seattle is hosting a visit by a special signing Santa . The event starts 11am when Santa will arrive with his American Sign Language (ASL) elves handing out gifts and signing a very big Ho-Ho-Ho! You don’t need to know sign language to come along, there’s an open invitation for everyone, bring the kids and enjoy the fun. There will be snacks...(read more)

Announcing the Imagine Cup social entrepreneurs short list

2011-12-13T16:26:40Z

Today we’re announcing the 15 teams that have made the shortlist for the inaugural Imagine Cup grants program. The program, which is a three-year, $3 million competitive grant program, aims to help Imagine Cup participants take their projects to market as the next step in solving the world’s toughest problems. This initiative builds on the Imagine Cup which challenges students around the world to combine technology and their creativity to solve some of the world’s toughest problems as defined by...(read more)

Do Volunteer Efforts During Humanitarian Crises Help?

2011-12-12T16:28:00Z

By Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft I am in Bangkok and have been very impressed with the work our local team is doing in delivering needed supplies to people that are still living in water and who have not received any help and many of them are in this situation for two months. During a natural disaster such as an earthquake, a flood, or a hurricane there is a propensity for many individuals who want to rush out and volunteer their help. Many feel...(read more)

Claremont Senior Computer Club Makes Savvy Seniors the Norm

2011-12-12T14:00:00Z

As a young electrical engineer in the 1960s, Tom Deno worked with some of the earliest computers. By the time he retired at age 64, he was a self-proclaimed “technology geek.” But he discovered that, among his peers, he was definitely in the minority. So he decided to do something about it and founded the Claremont Senior Computer Club in Claremont, California, in March of 1994. “We are now the largest and most successful senior club in the city,” he says with pride. A big part of that success comes...(read more)

How technology is helping a teacher connect with visually impaired students

2011-12-09T14:00:00Z

Originally posted on Microsoft News Center The scene in Robin Lowell’s high school algebra class mirrors classrooms across the country. The teacher is at the front of the room, patiently explaining tricky math concepts. Students frequently raise their hands and ask questions when they’re stuck. Two differences set this classroom apart: the students are visually impaired, and the teacher is a three-hour drive away. Lowell (Miss Lo to her students) teaches math remotely to students at the Washington...(read more)

Microsoft at COP17: Working together to organize environmental data

2011-12-01T18:47:06Z

Originally posted on the Software Enabled Earth blog By Robert Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist, Microsoft Microsoft is in Durban, South Africa, this week for the 17 th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as COP17. This year, Microsoft is teaming up with a number of organizations to demonstrate how data visualization tools can help transform our understanding of the world. I have little doubt that we can transform how people make decisions about...(read more)

STEM Hero: Looking up at the stars and advancing curriculum with Curtis Wong

2011-11-30T14:00:00Z

When your children look up at the sky, do they ever ask you what is going on millions of miles above their heads? Did you ever ask the same question? Back when Curtis Wong was a young boy growing up in smoggy Los Angeles, he dreamt of being able to clearly see and learn about the beautiful images of the sky, which he could only see in books. With that dream in mind, Curtis now uses his education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to make STEM subjects more accessible and more fun...(read more)

250 Technical Leaders Plus 30 Kids Equals an Awesome Exercise in Collaboration

2011-11-28T16:31:18Z

Kathleen Hogan, Corporate Vice President Microsoft Services, Co-Sponsor Microsoft US Giving Campaign What do you get when you bring together over 250 technical leaders from around the world with 30 kids from the local Bellevue, WA Boys and Girls Club (BGCA) aged 5 through 11? Well, besides a very energetic crowd you create a terrific atmosphere for a unique challenge! I recently had the honor of welcoming some of our most senior technical leaders across the Sales, Marketing and Services organization...(read more)

Upgrading your PC? Why not give someone access to the internet?

2011-11-21T14:00:00Z

Sean Nicholson, OEM 3R (Redesign, Reuse, Recycle) program manager, Microsoft Schoolchildren in Madagascar using refurbished PCs to learn IT skills Every year around 20% of the PCs in use worldwide finish with their owners. Many will be broken or very old, but around half of them can still be reused, especially as entry level PCs for internet use and learning IT skills. These reused PCs represent some of the most affordable ways for people to own a PC with commercial prices starting from under $100...(read more)