Creating Opportunity For Everyone Through Education - Orlando Ayala

Guten tag from Berlin, Germany, where I’m participating in the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (GLF) – Europe.  GLFs are annual Microsoft events that bring together top government and business leaders with the goal of driving discussion on how the private sector can work in cooperation with local, regional and central governments.

Of course, I’m here to talk about Microsoft Unlimited Potential, and more specifically, our continuing commitment to transforming education.  I’m meeting with partners from the public and private sectors, as well as a number of teachers and students who are directly benefiting from Microsoft programs.

Yesterday we announced a major recommitment to the Partners in Learning program—a key Unlimited Potential initiative supporting our work to transform education.  Since its launch in 2003, Partners in Learning has touched the lives of more than 90 million students, teachers and education policymakers in 101 countries, with nearly 4 million teachers and school leaders trained in the Partners in Learning curriculum. Our announcement today represents the next step in scaling the worldwide impact of this important program, aiming to reach up to three times as many students and teachers by 2013. We are investing an additional USD$235.5 million in this recommitment, bringing our total ten-year commitment to almost USD$500 million.  

But the impact on society made possible through the efforts of Partners in Learning goes even further;  by leveraging technology and the transformative power of software, we hope to give everyone not just access to quality education, but also a chance to build what I like to think of as ‘practical skills for life.’ Across a variety of programs, we at Microsoft are driving toward providing these skills—leveraging the power of software such as SharePoint, OneNote, PowerPoint, Word and Excel combined with locally relevant solutions. 

I have been fortunate enough over the past couple of days to be able to spend time with national and regional Ministers of Education and Ministers of Technology and Communications from countries across the region, including Romania, Spain, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. I was truly struck by the common understanding among all of us that high-quality education is a fundamental component to the social and economic prosperity of any community. While each face their own unique challenges, they all firmly believe in the power of technology to enable real opportunity. I think the Honorable Cristian-Mihai Adomnitei , Romania’s Minister of Education, Research and Youth summed it up best:

“Actively integrating technology into the classroom takes more than just PCs; it requires the cooperation and input of those with expertise, vision and strong experience in all aspects of the educational process. Microsoft’s continued partnership and guidance through Partners in Learning has been instrumental in the success of our programs to achieve better education through IT and in forming talents for a competitive economy.”

To that end, we have created the Partners in Learning program to enable the effective use of technology  from primary through secondary and higher education – and beyond.  We understand that education is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, so the program focuses on three programs that accommodate three unique sets of needs: Innovative Teachers, Innovative Students and Innovative Schools.  Through all of these, Partners in Learning leverages cutting-edge technology to create new and innovative educational experiences that bring down barriers in the classroom, create opportunities, and open new worlds of communication and collaboration between students and teachers.

Another group I’ve had the good fortune of visiting with here in Berlin is a contingent of students and teachers from Aragon, Spain. The group is from Ariño Primary School, located in a village with a population of just 900 people. Head teacher Jose Antonio Blesa wanted to raise educational standards and motivate students by giving them access to online research and interactive learning tools.

In partnership with Microsoft, he was able to provide his students with Tablet PCs linked to a wireless network. Meeting these students today and hearing from them about their passion for education and the technology tools they use was incredibly inspiring. One of the students, Vicente, went up on stage with Bill Gates and detailed all the homework he and his classmates were doing on the Tablets. Though he is only 11 years old, he spoke with the maturity and clarity of someone three times his age. The entire audience cheered for him and Vicente had an experience he will not soon forget.

I also spent time today with a participant from our Innovative Teachers program, Tommy Maher, a principal from a school in Ireland. In fact, Tommy won an award at the most recent Innovative Teachers Forum for his project “Don Quixote: Impossible Dreamers.” The Project name arose from the “Don Quixote” novel chosen by the students to study. The book was used as a vehicle for integrating ICT, robotics, science and mathematics in the curriculum. In the course of the study, the children learned valuable skills that will undoubtedly serve them far beyond this project.

I also want to mention our Innovative Schools program, which delivers expert guidance in holistic school reform, as well as a helpful roadmap for technology integration to help schools meet their education objectives as they introduce innovative programs and technologies into the classroom.  The most exciting aspect of this program is its ability to provide these schools educational guidance and best practices that is truly world-class, while at the same time supporting and understanding local needs and practices. 

I share these stories because I believe it’s important not to lose sight of the real-world impact these efforts have already generated—best measured in the stories of the lives, families, and communities – such as Minister Adomnitei, Tommy Maher, little Vicente and the rest of the Ariño Primary School students – that have seen new personal and economic opportunity blossom as a direct result of education. 

While these and other stories represent an inspiring link to the progress we have already achieved through Partners in Learning and Unlimited Potential, we must continue to look forward, and this announcement represents just that—a commitment to the future of education, to creating more partnerships and programs that further the learning and teaching progress, and to creating opportunity for everyone to obtain skills for life.