Microsoft Community Affairs 2008 Unlimited Potential Program Recipients

Europe

Microsoft congratulates the following Unlimited Potential (UP) grant recipients. We are proud to support their work.

Austria

Österreichische Caritas-Zentrale /Caritas Austria

As many as 200,000 socially disadvantaged Austrian women live in poverty and are unlikely to be able to afford a computer or learn basic technology skills. IT skills training has the potential to help these women enter the labor market. In this public-private partnership between the Austrian Labor Market Service's Ministry for Women and Caritas Austria (whose mission is to help marginalized individuals improve their lives), funding from a Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will continue to support IT skills training for women in need.

Belgium

Interface3/Do IT!

Eight percent of women in Belgium between the ages of 25 and 49 are unemployed. Of these women, the non-European residents have a much higher unemployment rate than their European counterparts. In response to the growing issues of immigrant social exclusion and long-term immigrant unemployment, eleven organizations united in 2006 under the Do IT initiative to offer programs in both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking regions of Belgium. Through their combined training resources and network of community technology centers around the country, the project, led by Interface 3, provided 4,500 people with IT skills training in 2007. This is the fifth year that Microsoft Unlimited Potential has supported this successful program with funding, curriculum, and software.

Bulgaria

iCentres Association

Bulgaria's government supports digital literacy programs throughout the country to help its work force become more successful. The iCentres project provides core IT skills training, with particular focus on the unemployed. This project, supported by Microsoft Unlimited Potential, builds upon the successful training of more than 30,000 people in basic technology skills and English. iCentres relies on a national network of more than 140 telecenters established through collaboration with the Bulgarian Government, UNDP, and Microsoft. The project uses the localized Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Learning curriculum and the latest tools in distance education to train 420 trainers and 3,000 disadvantaged people. A project goal is that 20 percent of trainees will find jobs within four months and that some of the trainees will open their own community technology centers. The iCentres network is anticipated to grow to 300 centers, train more than 12,000 disadvantaged people, and benefit more than 400,000 citizens throughout Bulgaria.

Croatia

HDPIO – Hrvatsko drustvo za promicanje informatickog obrazovanja

Croatia is preparing to join the European Union in 2009. For the last few years, Croatia has increased investments in technology and education; new schools with computer classes have opened and several hundred teachers have received formal technology skills certifications. Unfortunately, the benefits of these investments have yet to reach the broader population, particularly those who are unemployed and living in rural areas of the country. HDPIO (the Croatian Society for Promotion of IT Literacy) is an association of technology trainers who share a goal of integrating technology into all communities. This project will provide 40 hours of structured training to 500 young unemployed people in ten less-developed counties in Croatia to help them develop the IT skills needed to secure a job. Additionally, this effort will demonstrate how the entire community can use the existing infrastructure in schools.

Czech Republic

Charta 77 Foundation, PCs Against Barriers

The Czech Republic has made positive strides in creating an information technology economy over the past years. Despite improvements, there are still a significant number of socially or economically disadvantaged communities that have very limited access to information technology and the skills to use it well. PCs Against Barriers provides socially excluded citizens, such as people with disabilities or elderly people, with ICT skills and infrastructure to improve their economic and social opportunities. Building on a strong and long-term relationship, Charta 77 and Microsoft will extend the PCs Against Barriers effort by creating a network of additional community technology centers (CTCs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to train a broader portion of the community. This project aims to train 6,000 people, benefit another 3,800 through access and technology training, and incorporate 36 NGOs as active participants in the network.

Estonia

Tallinn City's Board of Disabled People

An estimated 113,000 Estonians have a disability, and more than 18,000 people with disabilities live in Tallinn. The Tallinn City Board of Disabled People has joined with Microsoft to design a range of IT skills training courses to teach young people with disabilities the skills needed in today's economy and society. Currently, there are no other alternatives for people with disabilities to get computer training in Tallinn; the center's classes are full and over-enrolled in the third year of the project. To date, 136 people have completed IT courses organized by Tallinn City Board of Disabled People and 700 people have had access to the organization's Internet facilities. The project also provides open Internet access for disabled people; a computer trainer is available to coach participants as needed.

Finland

The Finnish Association of the Deaf (FAD)

The Finnish Association of the Deaf's (FAD) Centaur project aims to increase the participation of deaf sign-language users participating in the information society. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding supports training for 12 peer-support trainers who are deaf and supports regional training in 41 community deaf clubs across Finland. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding supported the purchase of the Meteor publication platform, which was developed by Sininen Meteoriitti on the Microsoft .NET platform. All the community clubs will use Meteor to produce and maintain their own Web pages and to publish training materials. The clubs and FAD will form an extranet where they can distribute information and tips. The clubs will receive high-speed Internet connections and IT equipment that is adapted to enable video communication in sign language. During the three years of the project, 1,000 members of the sign-language community will receive training in basic software programs, communications equipment, information content, and production basics.

ARGOW

Ten percent of people in Finland have a disability that hampers their everyday life and only seventeen percent of these people are employed. The ARGOW project in Finland is successfully demonstrating how creative solutions and combined resources can significantly reduce the digital divide's effect on people with disabilities. ARGOW unites four national non-governmental organizations that represent people with disabilities (the Finnish Association of People with Mobility Disabilities, the Finnish MS Society, Kynnysry/Threshold Association, and the Finnish Federation for the Visually Impaired). Through an innovative mobile classroom and a network of 37 community technology centers, the project aims to train 5,000 people with disabilities in IT skills and to reach people in the most remote areas of the country. This Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will provide funding for a train-the-trainers program. The latest accessibility software from Microsoft will benefit trainees across Finland by empowering them both socially and economically.

Seniors Bridging the Digital Divide
Kalliolan Settlementti/ Tietotupa

The Tietotupa project strives to prevent senior citizens from being excluded from the information society in Finland, a country with a rapidly aging population. In 2007, the Kalliolan Settlementti organization initiated the first Senior Portal project in Finland. Through the creation of an additional mutual support network, IT skills training can now be delivered by peers as well as via an online Web portal service. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will help seniors acquire the skills they need to participate in the information society.

France

Empowering Entrepreneurs
ADIE (Association pour le droit à l'initiative économique)

Founded in 1989 by Maria Novak, ADIE has helped establish more than 35,000 small businesses in France. In a pilot project funded by Microsoft Unlimited Potential grants in 2005 and 2007, ADIE demonstrated that efficient, effective support for microenterprises reduces their isolation and gives them the tools they need to thrive. With this grant, Microsoft provides funding to expand ADIE's training in micro-entrepreneurship to new regional branches across France. The goal of the training is to teach small business owners the basic computer skills they need to produce professional-quality quotes and invoices, streamline their communications with clients and vendors, and use the Internet for tasks such as inventory control and Web site development. The training will also facilitate the sharing of ideas, tools, and business contacts among the participants. After three years, this program is becoming an integral part of the various support services ADIE provides to its clients. Twelve regional branches out of 17 are participating and more than 500 micro-entrepreneurs have been trained to date.

Emmaüs, Cyber-Space

Established in 1953, Emmaüs is a non-governmental organization renowned throughout France for its work to combat social exclusion and to improve the lives of the poor and homeless. With 40 centers across the Paris region, Emmaüs has developed daily care centers, temporary accommodation, and housing facilities, as well as literacy, health, food, and prevention programs for young people and families. In 2003, Microsoft France and Emmaüs began a partnership to open a computer-learning center in one of the Emmaüs centers in Paris. The center provides free and continuous public access and now offers basic IT skills training, assistance in finding a job, and guidance on administrative paperwork. Microsoft has since then worked in partnership with Emmaus to open 13 new community technology centers, supported by 30 volunteer trainers, at Emmaüs centers around the Paris area. Their 2008 goal is to create two new centers and train the trainers and the volunteers in all of the centers.

Agences Nouvelles des Solidarités Actives

The French employment minister created the Agences Nouvelles des Solidarités Actives (ANSA) program. ANSA is currently active in 17 regions and aims to create employment opportunities for disadvantaged populations through technology skills training conducted in collaboration with selected community organizations throughout the country. ANSA activities are fully integrated in the government's program to foster employability and ultimately increase social inclusion. The promotion of IT access and IT skills training will play a key role in helping the program achieve its goals.

Germany

IT Fitness

In November 2006, Bill Gates, along with the Federal Minister for Economics and Technology, officially launched the IT Fitness Initiative in Germany. This cross-industry initiative—which is led by Microsoft and managed by Bildungsnetz (IT Education Net)—aims to provide IT skills training to 4 million unemployed and disadvantaged people in Germany by 2010. Now in the second phase of implementation, IT Fitness will broaden training offerings to non-governmental organizations in Germany that serve disadvantaged individuals including migrant workers, rural residents, and the unemployed. Bildungsnetz, working in collaboration with the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, will continue to provide training programs in vocational schools, lower-end secondary schools, and through online e-learning for people who are not reached through the traditional education system. This initiative is supported by the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program and other industry partners, including Cisco.

Hungary

Nonprofit Information and Training Centre Foundation (NIOK)

In spite of an increasingly computerized country, 67 percent of Hungary's unemployed population has no IT skills, as reported by Eurostat. The Nonprofit Information and Training Centre Foundation (NIOK) is an umbrella entity that covers a 20-member Civil Centre Service Center network (CISZOK), which is comprised of centers that operate public computer centers in every Hungarian county. Several public sector entities, including the Ministry of Labor, will initiate a training program to improve how non-governmental organizations use technology and to help people learn basic IT skills for improved employment opportunities. By training the trainers and using the new Microsoft Digital Literacy curriculum (localized to Hungarian), at least 2,400 people will receive basic technology skills training and an additional 20,000 will benefit from access to technology and IT skills training offered at these centers.

Ireland

Digital Communities – Dublin

Inner city Dublin has long been associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and long-term unemployment. Through an initiative supported by the Dublin City Council and the Dublin Institute of Technology, a Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will provide support to the Digital Communities program. This program offers high quality IT skills training in IC3 and MOS to young people, adults, and immigrants at 21 community technology centers throughout the inner city and disadvantaged suburbs of Dublin. The largest program of its kind in Ireland, the Digital Communities Program aims to train 2,250 people over three years. The training program encourages students to strive for professional and national accreditation, and provides them with the valuable skills they need to find employment.

Enable Ireland

The Enable Ireland partnership with Microsoft dates back more than seven years and continues work to bring technology to people with disabilities in a country where almost 70 percent of those with disability are unemployed. In 2007, the first national assistive technology training center in the country was launched by Enable Ireland with the endorsement of the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment. In 2008, Enable Ireland will continue to offer assistive technology training to more than 600 people per year. It will also serve as a training hub for other centers around the country. The establishment of this center will improve the reach of assistive technology, help empower and promote the independence of trainees, and promote awareness among potential employers for both social and economic inclusion. The partnership was recognized at the national level in 2007 when it was awarded the CSR Community Project of the Year.

Equal IT – Northern Ireland

Only 58 percent of women are employed in Northern Ireland, compared to the average of 69 percent for the United Kingdom. Through the Fast Track to IT (FIT) training initiative that has been successfully running in the Republic of Ireland for several years, Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will help expand the program to Northern Ireland. FIT will work with local non-governmental organizations and government agencies to replicate their training model in community technology centers in Belfast and Derry. FIT focuses on training marginalized job seekers through a customized approach that aligns to the needs of local industry. This cross-community initiative will provide training for 300 women per year and improve their opportunities for employment.

Italy

Associazione degli Interessi Metropolitani (AIM) – Internet Saloon

In Italy and across Europe, there is a large population of aging citizens, and organizations are working to eliminate the digital divide that can result when older citizens lack IT skills and knowledge. Through its Internet Saloons in Milan and Venice, AIM provides seniors with basic IT skills training to help them participate in the information society. When surveyed, past program participants indicated that IT skills training made daily living easier, enabling them to do things such as shop and bank online. The new skills also enabled program participants to use the Internet to meet people who share their interests and to maintain contact with family in distant locations. With a fifth year of sustained funding from the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program, the training in Milan has been phenomenally popular. With this new grant, AIM will create new Internet Saloons in Catania and Pavia to provide more people with IT skills training, and it plans to reach 6,500 people in 2008.

CNCA – Supporting Women in Underserved Areas

CNCA is a federation that coordinates the work of more than 250 associations in communities throughout Italy that help people who are burdened by poverty and inequality integrate into mainstream society. Disadvantaged people who receive technology skills training have a better chance of entering the job market and improved social and economic opportunities. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant for 2008 will support the expansion of this program from seven to 28 communities and will offer a technology skills training program for women.

Latvia

The Organization of People with Disabilities and their Friends (APEIRONS) Open Door Project

Although the law provides people with disabilities in Latvia with equal employment rights, in practice, fewer than 10 percent are employed. APEIRONS' Open Door project aims to create educational, employment, and social opportunities for disadvantaged young people and adults through free computer access, increased computer literacy, and technology skills development. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, the project will provide technology training in three regions through three non-governmental organizations that work with people with disabilities. APEIRONS will enlist the assistance of partners and continue working with the government to maximize resource use across the three centers. In parallel, the project will expand the research on assistive technology products, adaptive software, and accessibility features to serve people with disabilities, which will result in training opportunities for specialists in technology accessibility. The project seeks to benefit and train at least 500 people in 2008.

LIKTA (Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association) Latvia@World

A small country with strong economic growth but few natural resources, Latvia counts a skilled work force as one of its most important assets. LIKTA's Latvia@World project seeks to enable each member of the community throughout Latvia to benefit from information technologies and to participate in the new knowledge economy. For the past three years, Microsoft, the Latvian government, municipalities, and other IT industry members have supported the effort to help people overcome the digital divide and social exclusion. The project provides basic IT skills training and promotes access to public and private business services available on the Internet. In 2008, the project will focus training on families and small business entrepreneurs. The main goal is to establish a self-sustaining network of community technology centers (CTCs) and to reach 10,500 people in 2008.

Lithuania

Association Langas i Ateiti / Window to the Future (W2F)

The Lithuanian information and knowledge economy has developed rapidly in recent years. However, more than half of Lithuania's population does not have access or the skills to utilize technology. The mission of Window to the Future (W2F) is to help bridge the digital divide by promoting the use of the Internet to stimulate economic growth and improve the standard of living of Lithuanians. The project focus under the Microsoft Unlimited Potential – Community Technology Skills program is to empower people to use technology to compete in the labor market. It is anticipated that more than 18,000 Lithuanian citizens will benefit from this project in 2008.

Luxembourg

Caritas

Caritas, supported by Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding for the past four years, provides asylum seekers in Luxembourg with access to computers, the Internet, and IT skills training through three community technology centers. The aim of this program is to minimize the digital divide and the isolation many asylum seekers experience when they are disconnected from their community. In addition to receiving basic IT skills training, participants in this program can access public information resources, network with others online, and communicate with friends and family in their home countries. Workshops on job searching will complement the training resources available through this project. The Caritas program aims to train 300 people in 2008.

Malta

Empowering through ICT

The fast evolution of technology poses new demands on the Maltese work force. The Maltese information economy requires a flexible labor market that has the skills to meet the demands of diverse industries. Together with support from Microsoft and the government, the program is focused on ensuring that potentially marginalized groups are not left behind in the transition to an information economy. This project works through a network of 10 centers, each focused on a particular target population that includes the disabled, women, youth, the elderly, and the unemployed. In the next year, approximately 3,000 people will receive training or will otherwise benefit from the services offered by the CEO network centers.

Netherlands

Double Click, Computerwijk

In certain suburbs of Amsterdam, nearly 60 percent of the population is made up of immigrants and their families. Many do not speak Dutch and do not have marketable skills, which results in high unemployment and cultural isolation for these people. The DubbelKlik (or Double Click) program addresses these issues by training volunteers from immigrant organizations to help people in their community acquire technology skills. Microsoft has funded the program for four years and this recent Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will help the project expand to new community technology centers in suburbs around Amsterdam working in collaboration with local governments. The program provides training in basic IT skills and Dutch and to date, 2,400 people have successfully completed training in 22 community technology centers. Follow-up training with the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Learning curriculum is also available as well as support to further IT knowledge.

Norway

Seniornett

The mission of Seniornett Norway is to connect seniors to the information society. Norway has a rapidly aging population that is at risk of becoming isolated with no IT knowledge. Seniornett, working in partnership with the Norwegian pensioners association, addresses the promotion of digital literacy among seniors and has a goal of establishing 500 training clubs throughout Norway by 2011. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding and Microsoft software donations, Seniornett will offer a train-the-trainer program and facilitate the creation of 25 training clubs in 2007. Over three years, using creative solutions such as a mobile classroom, the project will work to empower 5,000 Norwegian seniors to participate in the information society.

Poland

Foundation Supporting Disabled Mathematicians and IT Specialists

Poland has undergone a great transformation over the last decade and almost half of all households are equipped with a computer; however, a significant digital gap must be addressed. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, the Foundation Supporting Disabled Mathematicians and IT Specialists is bringing technology skills and knowledge to disadvantaged communities. The network of 379 e-centers across Poland will provide free access to computers and a platform for lifelong education. There will be more than 50 e-learning courses available on demand and group training sessions will be added later in 2008. Citizens throughout Poland will gain access to quality content that will enable them to supplement knowledge or acquire new skills, including soft skills and vocational qualifications. Over the project's first year, more than 45,000 people will have completed training and an estimated 450,000 people will otherwise benefit through access to the platform and technology.

Portugal

CITEVE—From Textiles to new opportunities

The Microsoft Unlimited Potential program has supported CITEVE, the technological arm of the textile industry, for three years in its initiative to help provide new skills to workers in the textile industry and those who have become unemployed due to the decline in the textile industry across Europe. The goal of this program is to empower individuals by providing IT skills training to help increase new employment prospects in a region where the textile industry has traditionally had a strong presence. Now in its fourth year of supporting the program, the 2008 Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will help increase IT skills training and provide new skills to workers from other declining industries in Portugal—namely the metal, footwear, ceramics, and glass industries. Supported by mobile training units, the initiative will contribute to creating economic prosperity in new regions of the country.

Escolhas (Choices)

Helping disadvantaged youth in Portugal discover and broaden the choices available to them is the driving force behind Escolhas. Escolhas, also supported by the Portuguese government, provides technology skills training to youth in underserved areas of the country to help them become productive contributors to society and the economy. With the success of this program, Escolhas is now expanding from 78 to 100 community technology centers throughout Portugal to support the training of 5,000 people over a three-year period on the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Learning curriculum. Professional trainers for the train-the-trainer program ensure consistent and quality training in all centers. A strong focus on accreditation also helps prepare graduates for the job market.

Romania

Education for Open Society (EOS)

Education for Open Society (EOS) is a nonprofit organization that facilitates an open society and promotes sustainable development in Romania by enabling young people to acquire entrepreneurial skills and technology training. Microsoft has worked with EOS over the past six years on a number of efforts. This Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant helps expand the work initiated in three centers located in Timis, a county in the western part of Romania where unemployment is high and the work force requires new skills. EOS will also use the grant funds to continue to build a national network of Outreach Community Training Centers across Romania, in collaboration with Civitas, and as a complement to the World Bank funded Knowledge Economy project. The grant is projected to support more than 40 centers and training for 20,000 people in three years.

Civitas Foundation for Civil Society

The Civitas Foundation for Civil Society, founded in 1992, was established to stimulate citizen involvement in decision-making and local governance, including human rights protection, civic education, and environmental protection. Together with Microsoft, the Foundation is developing a long-term project to teach information and communication technology (ICT) skills to youth in rural communities. One of the project's goals is to train young people so that they can help contribute to the development of their communities. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will support basic IT skills courses and professional development courses for the staff working in the community technology centers in three rural communities along the Transylvanian highway, supporting basic IT skills courses and professional development courses for the staff working in the centers. Exploratory work to establish two additional centers will also be pursued in conjunction with efforts around the larger Knowledge Economy effort taking place in Romania and the EOS-led national training center network. In the next year, the project will reach approximately 1,500 people from five communities in rural Romania.

Russia

Project Harmony

The 2008 Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant supports the second year of a relationship with Project Harmony and the IDEA project. Over the project's three years, Project Harmony will engage with a minimum of 20 centers each year to provide improved technology access and skills training to underserved communities in Russia. Selected from a group of 96 centers across Russia, the centers will share best practices and work together to deliver quality training in their respective communities. The program supports 30 hours of training each month, including 24 hours of basic IT skills training. In addition to providing the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Learning curriculum to the project and all of the centers, the Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will help offset the cost of training staff, materials, communications, evaluation, and management of the program. Over the next three years, at least 56,000 people will receive basic skills training and 220,000 additional people will benefit from access and other resources provided through the IDEA centers.

Serbia

IAN International Aid Network

After more than a decade of economic and social decline, Serbia is now on course to join the European Union and meet modern world standards. However, the past has scarred the Serbian social landscape. Thousands of refugees and displaced people still face major challenges finding employment and integrating into society. While the Serbian state and its institutions are fully engaged in finding solutions, their help is often limited to providing basic needs and legal advice to the population. The International Aid Network (IAN) in Serbia is working to educate refugees and other socially vulnerable groups. By learning how to use information technologies and acquiring other related professional and social skills, they can create new opportunities for themselves. By providing the IAN education programs with software and donations, Microsoft is helping create new opportunities for these people. IAN provides courses on computer use, social skills, entrepreneurship, and English language. More than 2,500 people have participated in this program so far, for which IAN Telecenter received an Award of Excellence from Microsoft Serbia in 2006.

Slovakia

P-MAT – 40UP

According to the study "Digital Literacy in Slovakia 2007" (Institute for Public Affairs, October 2007), the level of computer literacy in Slovakia is continuously increasing, and reveals a large generational discrepancy. The study revealed that people in their thirties or younger actively use computers and Internet, however, those in their forties and older lack basic computer skills, increasing their vulnerability to unemployment. Project 40UP provides basic computing skills to people older than 40. Created by P-MAT and Microsoft Slovakia in 2006, this long-term project organizes courses at schools and builds on the existing Microsoft IT Academies network, which is one of the biggest in Central Europe. The goal for this year is to train 2,200 participants and benefit an additional 1,500 people. The three-year goal is to train 10,000 people. The interest and support of government representatives is evidence of the success of this project, which is endorsed by Dusan Caplovic, Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Government.

Slovenia

The Youth Information and Counseling Center of Slovenia (MISSS)

While both economic development and social development in Slovenia are good and the country is growing quickly, many people still lack computing skills. The Youth Information and Counseling Center of Slovenia (MISSS) focuses on improving the attitude of young people toward their own development. Through basic computer skills training efforts, MISSS raises computer skill levels, and consequently, the employability and social inclusion of the people it serves. The project seeks to train more than 3,500 people in three years, including unemployed youth, senior citizens, people with disabilities, immigrants from former Yugoslav republics, and the Roma. By providing computer skills training and access, the network of 12 community technology centers will benefit an estimated 15,000 Slovenian citizens across seven regions in Slovenia by 2009.

Spain

Connect Now!

Connect Now is a national initiative in Spain driven by Fundacion Esplai that focuses on increasing digital literacy among the most disadvantaged social groups. The goal of this initiative is to improve the social inclusion of disadvantaged people and to develop the information society. The program reaches beneficiaries through a network of community technology centers and schools. The project combines two programs: Conecta e-inclusion and Young Conecta. Conecta e-inclusion is a program for young people, women, and immigrants who are part of the Red Conecta network and 500 other centers in associated networks. Young Conecta is a program specifically for young people and is based on a service learning plan that is used in the high schools. Working in partnership with Microsoft Unlimited Potential, nongovernmental organizations, local government, and national government, and by applying a consistent methodology for delivering quality IT skills training throughout the network, Connect Now is making a strong impact in its third year. The project is on track to train more than 130,000 people in community technology learning centers over the next three years throughout Spain.

Sweden

Pensiondrernas Riksorganisation (PRO)

Pensiondrernas Riksorganisation (PRO) is the largest nonprofit organization in Sweden, representing senior citizens in 1,500 local organizations. Many of these seniors are uncomfortable with new technologies, but PRO strongly believes that every person in the community should be able to participate in the information society. With basic IT skills, seniors can enrich their lives through use of the Internet; they can use resources such as online banking, stay in touch with distant relatives, and communicate with doctors. However, many of the available IT skills training courses are not adapted to serve older people. To address this, since 2002, PRO has been developing programs in which seniors train their peers. In its fifth year of working with Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, PRO will use the grant from Microsoft to develop new training and to continue training district representatives and local trainers—who are all members of PRO and senior citizens.

Switzerland

Joker Card Project

Everybody deserves another chance in life, which is what prompted the Joker Card project in Switzerland. In response to a high unemployment rate in the French speaking Canton de Vaud, the federal government invited Microsoft, Association Arches, Caritas and other organizations to support an initiative aimed at the social and economic integration of unemployed people in the region through a technology skills training program. Microsoft initially contributed support through a refurbished computer loan program to benefit the unemployed. In 2007, Microsoft funded a technology skills training program to help the unemployed, migrants, and disadvantaged youth gain the skills needed for the job market. In the second year of the project, work experience and job skills coaching have been added to the IT skills training program provided through Caritas. There are now 60 partners supporting the Joker Initiative. In 2007, the Swiss Minister of Environment, Traffic, and Communications recognized the Joker project with a Knight of Communications award for its contribution to making the information society accessible to all.

Barrier Free – Stiftung Zugang für Alle

The principal mission of Barrier Free in Switzerland is to empower people with disabilities to actively participate in the information society and integrate the work force. Managed by Stiftung Zugang für Alle, the program was initiated in Switzerland with Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, following successful results in neighboring Austria. Barrier Free in Switzerland facilitates IT skills training and certification of disabled people on the European Computer Driving License (ECDL), an internationally recognized program for the certification of technology competence. During the first phase of the project, train-the-trainer workshops offered a German e-learning curriculum adapted for people with disabilities. In 2007, a French e-learning curriculum as introduced to the project. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will continue to support train-the-trainer workshops to benefit an expected 1,600 people over three years. In 2007, the Swiss Minister of Environment, Traffic, and Communications recognized this program with a Knight of Communications award for its contribution to making the information society accessible to all.

Ukraine

Project Harmony

Isolation and a lack of marketable business skills are the hallmarks of many underserved communities throughout Ukraine, which makes it difficult for people to find good employment. This negative effect is more pronounced among disadvantaged populations, which include people with disabilities, youth, women, the elderly, veterans, the unemployed, and immigrants. Project Harmony will combine the best practices and proven models from the Russia-based Internet Community Learning Centers (ICLCs), together with knowledge of the local community and a strong network of regional non-governmental organizations, to launch the IDEA/Ukraine program. In addition to teaching the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Learning curriculum, the centers will provide community-specific training in productivity applications; full Internet access; an array of workstations, scanners, and printers; and support from an educational coordinator. The seven centers will also cooperate closely with local social service groups, including regional employment agencies, to help participants in identify work opportunities. Over the course of the one-year program, the centers will train 2,772 people and benefit an additional 4,151 people by providing access to technology and other center resources.

United Kingdom

Black Country Consortium

The Black Country Consortium (BCC) project is a long-term commitment supported by Microsoft to develop a stronger knowledge economy by improving the skills of the current labor force and providing basic skills to the unemployed. Through a network of 120 community technology centers, disadvantaged communities are receiving technology skills training in the Black Country region. The project ultimately aims to enable job growth and sustained economic opportunity in this economically depressed region. BCC works closely with Black Country Knowledge Society, to provide technology training at all levels, and with the Black Country Learning Net, to broaden digital inclusion in the community.

Age Concern

In Western Europe, there are limited work force opportunities for unemployed people over 50. As a part of the Black Country project, Age Concern's mission is to address unemployment in the Black Country region by supporting all people over 50 through a digital inclusion network as well as promoting micro-entrepreneurship through the PRIME initiative. The PRIME initiative is a charity linked to Age Concern, which strives to help people older than 50 consider options for self-employment and micro-entrepreneurship. In supporting this goal, Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will be used to run community workshops on self-employment and to ensure appropriate IT skills training is delivered. It will help recruit mentors for potential micro-entrepreneurs and help track progress of people who are starting small businesses.

Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)

Seventy-five percent of people who are blind or have low vision are unemployed in the United Kingdom. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) is part of the Black Country project. Its mission is to empower people with visual disabilities to improve employment opportunities through IT skills training. The RNIB partnership will drive increased accessible IT skills training and access to employment for blind and partially sighted people of working age. Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding will support the cost of training trainers, making training centers accessible, and providing employer awareness training on disabilities in the workplace.