Microsoft Citizenship Blog

How technology can help local languages

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:38:42 GMT

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...(read more)

Who Trained 100,000 People in 2011?

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:01:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Microsoft’s Software Donation Policy

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:30:00 GMT

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...(read more)

How Microsoft Employees are helping the Community

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Did you hear about our 35,500 employee philanthropists?

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:08:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:02:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Technology keeps the lights on at the American Shakespeare Center

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:22:15 GMT

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...(read more)

Meet the Imagine Cup students turned social entrepreneurs

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Skype’s Disaster Response Platform

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Microsoft Vision Center in Davos

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Building a technology backbone for global health impact

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

The nonprofit productivity battle: have you tried OneNote?

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:02:00 GMT

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...(read more)

TEDx: Harnessing disruptive change for good

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:39:00 GMT

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

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 GMT

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)...(read more)

Social Innovation in China

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:04:38 GMT

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...(read more)

Empowering Women to Foster Rebuilding Activities after Disasters

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:45:44 GMT

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...(read more)

Making Santa accessible in Seattle this weekend

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:33:45 GMT

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...(read more)

Announcing the Imagine Cup social entrepreneurs short list

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:26:40 GMT

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...(read more)

Do Volunteer Efforts During Humanitarian Crises Help?

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:28:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Claremont Senior Computer Club Makes Savvy Seniors the Norm

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

How technology is helping a teacher connect with visually impaired students

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Microsoft at COP17: Working together to organize environmental data

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:47:06 GMT

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...(read more)

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

Nathan J Peterson — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:31:18 GMT

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...(read more)

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

Microsoft Citizenship Team — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:00:00 GMT

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...(read more)