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This week at the African Union Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa leaders from the continent are meeting on the theme of: “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Africa: challenges and prospects for development.” Growing out of an increased recognition that technology is a critical element in supporting regional economic growth and competitiveness, the aim is to determine concrete action for the establishment of an Africa-wide information society.
The Heads of State will discuss the development of a harmonized policy framework for the ICT sector, and the development of national ICT promotion plans. It is expected that this will result in commitments to create an enabling environment for ICT development in order to promote investment in the sector and build infrastructure.
Microsoft has been a long time believer in the power of ICT to help regions develop internally and through sustainable means, especially by supporting local entrepreneurship and the growth of a local software economy.
Dr. Cheick Diarra, Microsoft Chairman for Africa, attended the opening session of the Summit. In September 2009 he co-chaired the EU-Africa Business Forum, also attended by many of the same African leaders, which provided recommendations on how ICT can be leveraged as a critical backbone of economic development and regional integration—among other factors like trade, entrepreneurship, infrastructure and energy.
African Union Heads of State Summit - UNECA Signing
Left to right: Richard Kiplagat, Microsoft, BDM Africa, Global Strategic Accounts;
Mr. Abdoulie Janne, UNECA Executive–Secretary; Dr. Cheick M. Diarra,
Chairman of Africa, Microsoft; Frank McCosker, Microsoft, GM, Global Strategic
Accounts
In Dr. Diarra’s own words:
“We are at the cusp of a transformation here in Africa. We are witnessing how investment, development and technology are helping to harness Africa’s abundant human capital, and helping create an environment in which rural and urban communities can realize their potential.
But to realize the potential of the broad range of technologies – mobile phones, computers, software and the Internet – resources must be matched by resourcefulness. The most constructive applications of technology will be the ones that are combined with initiatives by public-private partnerships, government leaders, educators and entrepreneurs.”
On the sidelines of the event, Microsoft signed new partnership agreements with three inter-governmental organizations to support the promotion of ICT and ICT policy in Africa: the World Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the East African Community (EAC). More information on these announcements is available here.
African Union Heads of State Summit - EAC Signing
Left to right: Hon. Beatrice Kiraso, Deputy Secretary General, EAC; Cheick
Diarra, Microsoft Chairman for Africa
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This week, some of our MultiPoint team members are lucky enough to be attending BETT—the world’s largest education technology event—in London. Since we’re focused on creating new technology products that can make teachers’ lives easier, it’s always a fantastic opportunity to be able to talk to them directly about what they are looking for from technology in the classroom.
No matter where we are, there’s one thing we hear that’s always the same: educators the world over want access to affordable, secure, and easy-to-use technology that gives them the tools to increase quality and variety in delivering their curriculum. These tools can help them and their students to be better prepared for success in the real world. We listened to this feedback when developing our shared resource computing technologies, our MultiPoint solutions, which give policymakers, teachers, and students access to such technology at an affordable and competitive price point. Today, we’re introducing two new MultiPoint solutions—Windows MultiPoint Mouse SDK 1.5 and Microsoft Mouse Mischief.
Why? Well, for starters, publishers and education ISVs need a solution to help create new software that can harness the opportunities presented by shared resource computing scenarios. The Windows MultiPoint Mouse Software Development Kit (SDK for short) helps developers create interactive applications allowing up to 25 students, each with their own mouse, to interact on the same PC. It’s a simple but powerful solution that lets more kids use shared computing resources—and a great collaborative tool.
Today, we’re announcing the availability of MultiPoint Mouse SDK 1.5, available worldwide for download at www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-sdk. Any education, casual gaming, or other ISV that would like to develop a product using the SDK can download it free from MSDN.
The MultiPoint Mouse SDK solution is also open to any and all partners who want to create new and compelling education content for students, and we’ve already seen numerous education publishers and ISVs developing solutions on the MultiPoint Mouse SDK around the world. Now, we’re happy to announce a couple of new programs built on MultiPoint Mouse SDK technology. Our partner Scholastic has developed Story Stage, an interactive and highly creative virtual puppet-based literacy application.
And our Russian content partner Noviy Disk is releasing the English version of Curriculum Curiosity, which draws on elements of creativity, construction and modeling, design and project work via five interactive workshops, encouraging teamwork and positive influence on communication skills development for young students.
Finally, to empower teachers to create their own content that can inspire and excite students, we developed Mouse Mischief—a new, free state-of-the-art MultiPoint-enabled tool that they can use to create interactive PowerPoint classroom presentations. With Mouse Mischief, students can use affordable, off-the-shelf USB mice as clickers to answer multiple-choice, yes/no, and matching questions – which teachers can insert in their presentations. A free beta download is available now at www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief, and a full version of Mouse Mischief is expected to be available in the first half of 2010.
So check out MultiPoint Mouse SDK and Mouse Mischief today, and help become a part of the future of personalized learning that’s possible through shared access computing solutions like these. We can’t wait to see what kind of new programs and solutions that teachers, developers, and students the world over come up with set loose to innovate with these free, powerful learning tools.
-Ira Snyder, General Manager, Startup Business Group
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Today we are delighted to announce the seventh and final winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. Congratulations to Peter Pheap who submitted the video on behalf of Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. The winning entry shows how a high school student uses his PC in different ways to support his community on his way to work at the Boys & Girls Club.
For 50 years, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula has provided places where children are welcome and can belong. The Club has evolved and is now regarded as one of the most comprehensive youth development organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, the Club has eight sites – three club house and five school based locations. Over 1,100 youth attend the Club daily.
Video - 7 Ways: Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula
We would like to congratulate Peter and everyone involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula for a great winning entry.
Why not take a look at some of the other video submissions for the 7 Ways to Change the World competition which you’ll find in the online gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date with the latest news by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter
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Today we are announcing the sixth winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. Congratulations to Clint Lunde who submitted the video on behalf of SkiDUCK. The video explains how technology can help the team at SkiDUCK to be more efficient, spending more time helping deserving children and less time on administration.
SkiDUCK is a national non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of disabled and underprivileged children by sharing the joys of skiing and snowboarding. It is committed to partnering with local organizations with similar goals of serving disabled or underprivileged children. In areas where the skiing and snowboarding needs of disabled or underprivileged children are not currently being served, SkiDUCK seeks to establish a sustainable model of service with local resources and volunteers.
Video - 7 Ways: SkiDUCK
We would like to congratulate Clint and everyone involved with SkiDuck for a fun submission.
Tomorrow we’ll be announcing our seventh and final winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition.
In the meantime, why not take a look at some of the other video submissions which you’ll find in the online gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Today we are announcing the fifth winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. Congratulations to Elizabeth Wallace who submitted the video on behalf of the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound: Bremerton Branch. The video: “Our new club member” takes a creative look at how a new PC with Windows 7 gets welcomed into the club.
Boys & Girls Clubs programs have taken members from the Clubhouse to the White House; from the games room to the corporate boardroom; from the high school orchestra to Carnegie Hall. Boys & Girls Clubs of America has a lineup of tested and proven nationally recognized programs that address today's most pressing youth issues, teaching young people the skills they need to succeed in life. More than 25 national programs are available in the areas of education, the environment, health, the arts, careers, alcohol/drug and pregnancy prevention, gang prevention, leadership development and athletics.
Video - 7 Ways: Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, Bremerton Branch
We would like to congratulate Elizabeth and everyone at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound Bremerton Branch for a creative and fun submission.
On Monday we’ll announce our sixth winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition.
In the meantime, why not take a look at some of the other video submissions which you’ll find in the online gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Today we are announcing the fourth winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. Congratulations to Sherill Carrington who submitted the video on behalf of the United Way of Central Carolinas. The video: “Impacting the Non-Profit Need” looks at how technology can help non-profit organizations to do more with less, helping them to reduce costs, and drive efficiencies, enabling non-profits to develop creative solutions to address the needs of their communities.
United Way of Central Carolinas is a local and regional partnership of volunteers, donors, staff, agencies and people served, that raises and distributes funds and strives to strengthen community capacity and individual ability to care for one another.
Video - 7 Ways: United Way of Central Carolinas
We would like to congratulate Sherill and everyone at the United Ways of Central Carolinas for a thoughtful and useful entry.
Tomorrow we’ll announce our fifth winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition.
In the meantime, why not take a look at some of the other video submissions which you’ll find in the online gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Today we are delighted to announce the third winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. We’d like to congratulate Jennifer Jackson who submitted an entry on behalf of the American Red Cross: Dallas Area Chapter which presents a humorous look at how Windows 7 will help the Dallas Area Chapter to snap it, shake it and stick it.
The Dallas Area Chapter provides all Red Cross programs and services throughout its twelve county - 144 city service delivery area: Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, Rains, Rockwall, and Van Zandt counties. Each year the Dallas Area Chapter helps more than 3,200 people across North Texas affected by disasters such as home fires, flooding, and tornadoes.
Video - 7 Ways: American Red Cross Dallas Area Chapter
Congratulations to Jennifer and to everyone at the American Red Cross Dallas Chapter on a fantastic entry.
Tomorrow we’ll be announcing our fourth winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition.
In the meantime, why not take a look at some of the other 135 video submissions which you’ll find in the online gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Today we are delighted to announce the second winner of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. We’d like to congratulate Danielle DeVoe who submitted an entry on behalf of the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group.
The Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization that works with communities to maximize self-sustaining salmon populations. In King and Eastern Kitsap Counties, we work cooperatively with private landowners, agencies, tribes and others to identify, design and implement projects that improve salmon habitat.
Video - 7 Ways: Windows 7 Helping Salmon
Congratulations to Danielle and to everyone involved in the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group.
Check back tomorrow when we’ll be announcing our third winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. Why not browse through the incredible contest submissions which you’ll find in the gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Starting today, until November 24th we’ll be announcing the 7 winners of the 7 Ways to Change the World competition with one winner being announced each working day.
We are delighted to announce our first winning entry, submitted by Stephanie Hood on behalf of the More than Me Foundation.
The More than Me Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that strives to bring education and mentorship opportunities to students in countries where access is commonly denied while strengthening and building our local community through the project work. Currently, More than Me is working in post war Liberia in an effort to bring primary education to all of her children.
Video - 7 Ways: More than Me Foundation
Congratulations to Stephanie and to everyone involved in the More than Me Foundation.
Check back tomorrow when we’ll be announcing our second winner in the 7 Ways to Change the World competition. While you are there why not browse through the incredible submissions which you’ll find in the gallery.
You can also keep up-to-date on the winners by following @msftcitizenship on Twitter.
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Good morning.
The deadline for submissions to our 7 Ways to Change the World competition closed last week.
The objective of the competition was to encourage people to share their ideas on how a PC running Windows could help an organization to have a greater impact in the community.
We would like to send our congratulations and thanks to everyone who took the time to share their ideas and we’d strongly recommend you view the entries in our online 7 Ways Gallery.
The response to the competition has been incredible, both in terms of the quality and the volume of entries. It has provided our judges with an incredibly hard challenge in selecting just 7 winners.
Later today we will announce the first winner here and we’ll then be announcing the other six winners each working day until November 24th 2009.
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In our ongoing discussions with education institutions around the world, we’ve learned that customers want access to affordable, secure, and easy-to-use technology that provides students with the latest tools to prepare them for the global workforce. Educators appreciate, and many advocate, the use of technology to improve teaching and learning. They understand technology can help drive improvement in student achievement and they’re looking to Microsoft to help make this technology accessible.
Over the past few years, we at Microsoft have been exploring the area of shared resource computing—a new computing category that allows a customer to tap into a computer’s excess capability to let a single computer support multiple users simultaneously. In the world of education, shared resource computing has great potential to extend the reach and utilization of affordable computing for students.
Today, Microsoft is introducing its newest entry into the shared resource computing category: Windows MultiPoint Server 2010, an educational solution that extends the reach of technology in learning environments like classrooms, labs, and libraries by allowing multiple users to leverage the resources of a single computer, giving more students access to Windows technology that can help them to learn, share, produce, communicate and positively impact their future employability.
Designed for educational institutions with limited IT resources, Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 enables schools to access technology at a lower overall total cost of ownership with lower ongoing operations costs per user.
For Microsoft’s part, we believe that we can bring value into the education market that’s not available today— delivering more computing access to classrooms for the same budget and with a familiar and supported Windows experience, all with simple and easy-to-use technology.
Faced with ever-tightening budgets in the classroom, the availability of Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 will give all of those in the education world—from policymakers to students—an open door to the limitless opportunities that only the magic of technology can make possible.
Stay tuned here and at our website for more info to come—we plan to have Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 available to schools around the world in the first half of 2010.
-Ira Snyder, General Manager, Windows MultiPoint Server, Microsoft
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Good morning,
I wanted to give you all a quick update on the 7 Ways to Change the World video contest.
As a little background, we asked folks how they would use Windows to help their local community and so far we’ve received some great videos.
ProjectExplorer.org is a non-profit organization that told a story of how donating a computer to 1,500 students at Mpontsheng Secondary School in Katlehong, South Africa made the children’s faces light up. They said they plan to use the grant to bring in a second computer.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula illustrated how a high school student heading to work can help those around him by using his PC. For example, the young man could help feed the hungry by using the Internet to find the nearest place to buy food.
Founder of Roots and Wings International, Eric Swanson, speaks to how his organization changes lives through education and needs information tools to serve k'iche'-speaking students in Guatemala.
We encourage you to keep these great ideas coming!
But remember, the deadline to submit your entry is Nov. 11, 2009. We’ll be announcing the 7 winners from Nov. 16 -24, 2009, with each winner receiving a new PC running Windows 7 and a $7,000 grant for their chosen eligible nonprofit or NGO.
Check out what ideas people have posted, and upload your own at: http://www.7waystochangetheworld.com/gallery.aspx.
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The current moment is a particularly challenging one for the continent of Africa. Following in line with the global economic crisis, growth in Africa is now expected to be only 2.8 percent in 2009, following five years of consecutive growth above 5.5 percent. Yet no time is more important than now to bolster Africa’s investments in technology that can boost regional economic growth.
On September 28-29, nearly 300 business leaders and government officials gathered in Nairobi for the Third EU-Africa Business Forum to discuss a positive way forward towards improving the economic climate in Africa. The event, themed “Africa and Europe: On the Road to New Win-Win Partnerships,” discussed the issue of increasing regional integration and the notion of creating an EU-like entity “to achieve prosperity, well-being of the people, and development in the African region.”
In keynotes and discussions, a particular emphasis was given to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a critical backbone of economic growth and regional integration—among other factors like trade, entrepreneurship, infrastructure and energy. Expressed through our Unlimited Potential initiative, Microsoft has long believed that the power of ICT to encourage regional economic development is critical in the 21st century, so this topic was particularly encouraging to witness being addressed at such a substantial level among key African stakeholders.
Representing Microsoft’s viewpoint at the Forum, as well as serving as its Co-Chair, was Dr. Cheick Modibo Diarra, the company’s Chairman for Africa. Dr. Diarra explained how an economic climate of scarcity and challenge can actually benefit the use of ICT as a solution: “A lot of people still don’t realize that in fact when you are called upon to be more productive, to be more effective, more efficient, especially during this time of crisis, that is the best time actually to call on ICT to help you actually meet those challenges.”
(You can see coverage from the event, including quotes from Cheick Diarra, in a CNBC Europe World Business report here).
Broad support for the topics discussed during the Forum has been extremely encouraging—the EC has pledged €5 billion in funding, out of which €1.5 billion is designated for regional integration. Further, the European Commission is calling on private companies to contribute expertise for ICT applications and interconnectivity.
As always, it’s our hope that the ongoing progress of events like the EU-Africa forum that bring together stakeholders from across the world to help solve regional and global issues, including the furthering of ICT, will continue to make a positive impact for communities, governments, and people across Africa and the globe.
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The 1994 genocide in Rwanda devastated the country’s economy and its education sector – the backbone of economic and social development. Since overcoming the tragedy, the government has focused on education as a means of reducing poverty and restarting the country’s growth. In recent years, it has increased the enrollment rates in primary education to 97% and has expanded the number of universities from just one in 1994 to 18. However, with such impressive advances, building the supporting infrastructure to manage education remained a challenge for educators and government officials.
To address this, in 2007 Agile Learning Company – a Microsoft partner – worked with the Rwanda Ministry of Education to develop and implement the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Whereas before schools received questionnaires to fill out by hand about the number of students, grades, etc, which were then collected physically in each district and brought to the ministry for the annual report, the EMIS platform digitizes this process by allowing teachers and administrators to input directly into a database. Other stored data includes information on the need for teachers and infrastructure, which serve to ensure that resources are well distributed according to local requirements. The program has been launched to provide the country’s 5,000 schools with EMIS and relevant training by 2011.
Microsoft is providing additional technical expertise and in-kind support for the EMIS project, including Unlimited Potential curriculum and training, while local schools are responsible for implementing the policies. James Curry, the CEO of Agile Learning Company, explains that, “the idea behind is it push down all the decision-making to the lower levels so that the Ministry of Education is basically monitoring and evaluating the policies that they set. The districts, the sectors and the schools are responsible for implementing those policies.”
Romain Murenzi, ICT Minister for Rwanda, stresses the importance of building the country’s capacity for effectively managing the education system. “In Rwanda we now have more than 2.6 million students – a quarter of the population – in school. This is very important,” he says. “This has a huge impact on peace. Education becomes the catalyst for peace.”
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UNESCO celebrates World Teachers’ Day today on the anniversary of the 1966 signing of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers which addresses teacher policies, rights and responsibilities.
There are over 59 million teachers around the world. They work tirelessly, often against barriers, to provide quality education for the 1.4 billion students around the world. Education is the cornerstone of economic opportunity, so any efforts to help young people realize their full potential must begin there.
All too often, schools and educators lack the resources to provide quality education to their students and prepare them for careers in the 21st century. That is why we work to create technology solutions for educators and students that are affordable, accessible and relevant. Through programs like Microsoft’s Partners in Learning, which has reached over 135 million students and educators worldwide, we strive to create education experiences that remove limitations and give students the opportunity to experience the benefits of technology.
We want to take a moment and thank teachers around the world for their dedication to their students and the future of our society. Thanks!!
