Microsoft and UNESCO Announce Joint Education and Community Development Initiatives (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Microsoft and UNESCO Announce Joint Education and Community Development
Initiatives

Wednesday, November 17, 2004 7:45:00 AM ET PRNewswire
PARIS, November 17 /PRNewswire/ --
http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_510792.html

Global Collaboration Aims to Promote Digital Inclusion in Developing
Countries

To support their common goals of promoting socioeconomic development
round the world, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today
announced a cooperation agreement that will help increase access to
information and communication technologies (ICT) and ICT skills
training in underserved communities. At a formal signing ceremony in
Paris, Koichiro Matsuura, UNESCO's director general, and Bill Gates,
Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, outlined details of
the agreement. Under the alliance, UNESCO and Microsoft will
collaborate on programmes that focus on the specific needs of
developing countries round the globe.

"We recognise the importance of harnessing ICT to help improve
sustainable livelihoods in underserved communities," Matsuura said. "By
working with global business leaders such as Microsoft that support our
efforts to establish open and inclusive knowledge societies, we can
accelerate the creation of social change and the expansion of economic
opportunities throughout the developing world."

  "We are honoured to team with UNESCO on this important initiative,"
Gates said. "Our shared goal is to help remove barriers to digital
inclusion and enable people around the world to realise the full
potential of technology -- through education and skills development
programmes, community access, and the preservation of cultural and
language diversity. Technology is a crucial resource in today's world,
but remains beyond the reach of millions of people. We hope to pplay a
part in changing that.

Under the cooperation agreement -- the result of six months of
discussions between the parties -- Microsoft and the UN agency will
focus on increasing the use of ICT through the following projects:

Education and Learning

     -- Syllabus for integrating ICT curriculum into teaching. UNESCO and
        Microsoft believe that ICT can play a significant role in
improving
        teaching and learning, provided that teachers have the training
they
        need to effectively integrate ICT into instructional design,
planning
        and other critical components of education. With assistance from
        Microsoft, UNESCO will create resource materials supporting the
        development of curricula and training courses on the use of ICT
for
        teachers and classrooms. The materials will provide content
guidance
        to curriculum authors and course providers, as well as tools to
help
        teachers, education policy-makers and others evaluate the
        effectiveness of available courseware. This multistakeholder
project
        will draw on Microsoft's expertise in designing ICT products and
        services for education; in conjunction with its Partners in
Learning
        and Unlimited Potential initiatives, Microsoft recently
announced the
        global availability of two ICT curriculum series for use in
schools
        and community learning settings.
     -- UNESCO Knowledge Communities. Utilising the Microsoft(R)
Solutions
        Sharing Network platform, UNESCO will develop multiple online
        communities that allow international and national experts and
agencies
        to exchange content and best practices, share tools, mobilise
        interested parties, and suggest solutions and strategies to
address
        critical issues in education. Initial community themes will
include
        Technology Solutions in Education, Multilingualism in Cyberspace
and
        Information for All.
     -- Teacher support and knowledge sharing. UNESCO and Microsoft will
        explore how Microsoft's Innovative Teachers programme and its
online
        community, the Innovative Teachers Network, can further UNESCO's
aims
        in education. The Innovative Teachers Network connects a global
        community of educators and provides forums in which teachers can
share
        ideas, content and best practices with other teachers who share a
        common interest in using technology to enhance teaching and
learning.
     -- ICT access and skills training for teachers and students. UNESCO
and
        Microsoft will also explore how Microsoft's Partners in Learning
        initiative can help advance efforts to improve education in
developing
        countries. Partners in Learning seeks to deliver teacher and
student
        skills development, tailored curricula, technical support and
        research, and increased access to technology by working with
        governments, local schools and teachers. UNESCO and Microsoft
will
        explore opportunities to collaborate under Partners in Learning
in
        Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and
Africa,
        Eastern Europe, and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent
States.

     Community Access and Development

     -- Youth technology and learning centres in the North African Arab
        states.  Microsoft and UNESCO will establish a subregional
technology
        centre that will provide North African youth with improved
access to
        ICT and ICT skills development. The facility will share
resources and
        expertise with other centres throughout the region, with the
ultimate
        aim of helping develop North Africa's future work force. The
project
        will draw on resources and best practices from UNESCO's
international
        information and data exchange network INFOYOUTH, and Microsoft's
        Unlimited Potential initiative. INFOYOUTH organises national,
regional
        and international consultations among a wide variety of
stakeholders
        to facilitate exchanges of data, experiences and analysis on
which
        national and international youth policies are based. Unlimited
        Potential focuses on improving lifelong learning for underserved
young
        people and adults by providing technology skills through
community
        technology centres. Under the alliance, UNESCO and Microsoft
will also
        explore the potential to collaborate on additional Unlimited
Potential
        projects.
     -- Computer refurbishment. UNESCO, in collaboration with Microsoft,
will
        foster international cooperation and the sharing of best
practices to
        support refurbishment efforts that can help developing countries
        increase access to cost-effective computer technology.

     Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Preservation

     -- Local language development. UNESCO and Microsoft will explore
ways to
        provide access to technology that preserves language and
culture. As
        part of this exploration, UNESCO will provide consultation to
        Microsoft and support the company's efforts with local
governments to
        prioritise and expand the number of languages served by its Local
        Language Program. Launched in early 2004, the Local Language
Program
        is a global initiative that provides desktop software and tools
in
        local languages by collaborating with local experts including
        governments, universities, language authorities and other
interested
        parties.


Microsoft's alliance with UNESCO is an extension of the company's
broader digital inclusion commitment to help individuals, communities
and nations gain access to the technology, tools, skills and innovation
they need to realise their full potential. Additional information is
available on Microsoft's EMEA Press Centre website at
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/unescomicrosoft .
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