Microsoft congratulates the following Unlimited Potential (UP) grant recipients. We are proud to support their work.
Belgium
Collectif des Femmes—Training Women for the IT Job Market
The Collectif des Femmes project provides women with in-depth information technology (IT) training to give them better access to the IT job market. This training also helps prevent discrimination against women in the field. To carry out its goals, the Collectif des Femmes has partnered with multiple organizations working in the IT field. Microsoft has donated funding, curriculum, and software to the Collectif des Femmes.
The Collectif des Femmes’ latest project consists of adding a more in-depth IT skills training course to the existing training in the community technology center (CTC). During the first year, 160 women will receive training.
The CTC is accessible during weekdays, with mornings set aside for self-directed training and knowledge sharing, and afternoons used for group courses. The in-depth IT skills class will be offered four days a week over the course of four weeks. The center is currently equipped with five computers, but will soon have a total of 11.
Dyslexia International Tools & Technology (DITT): IT skills—Unlocking Dyslexic Potential
The DITT projects provide IT skills courses for young and adult dyslexic learners. These courses increase IT literacy and provide access to facilities that enable the learners to gain competence with tools and technologies that will enable them to succeed in education and at work. The ultimate aim is to enhance computer skills and the ability to access information for educational, social, and employment purposes, thereby increasing the chances of social integration. The course targets an international group of French-, German-, Dutch-, English-, and Spanish-speaking learners. Microsoft funding will be used to expand the training to two more centers in Belgium and reach a total of 360 learners in the coming year. DITT works on the development of an adapted IT-skills learning module that will be rolled out internationally through DITT's network of local organizations and through DITT's partner organization, the International Library Foundation.
Interface 3—ICT for All Women
This project provides a 12-module IT skills training for women each year. The project's goals are to enhance access to employment and professional development, encourage use of the Internet for information and services, and enhance communication. The training modules focus on basic Microsoft tools. The project will train 180 women in the first year.
Link in de Kabel—Giving Youth New IT Skills
Link in de Kabel provides IT access, personalized IT coaching, and group training in its CTCs. The CTCs will offer three separate “units” (i.e., three levels of IT literacy) aimed at removing IT-related barriers. The First Unit consists of two computers located in the heart of the community center where young people come to make contacts, drink coffee, and seek aid from social workers. By installing a computer with access to the Internet in this social environment, Link in de Kabel hopes to motivate young people to learn more about the computer in an informal way (i.e., by looking something up on the Internet or checking e-mail). IT volunteers will help the youth learn how to use the computers and the Internet. The objective of the First Unit is to remove all digital barriers for these young people.
The Second Unit consists of four computers located in a separate teaching room where the youth can get personalized IT coaching in such subjects as how to create a personal e-mail account, how to build an Outlook address book, how to install and use Instant Messenger, and how to fill out a job application form. By offering this kind of coaching support, the ICT volunteers hope to help the young people discover the wide range of IT applications and show them how IT can help them in their day-to-day lives. The individual coaching should inspire the young people to further build IT skills through more formal training (in the Third Unit).
The Third Unit consists of a computer lab/classroom with six computers for use in IT-training sessions for larger groups. Sessions include introductory courses on using Microsoft Windows, Office, and Outlook and an introduction to building Web sites. The courses are taught by ICT volunteer teachers and are aimed at providing the youth with IT skills. During the first year, 275 people will be trained in three CTCs.
Bulgaria
Foundation Horizonti—IT Skills Improve the Lives of the Visually Impaired
Foundation Horizonti was created by a group of specialists and students in 1995. Its mission is to support education and the development of professional skills for visually impaired students and specialists. The foundation is driven by two fundamental ideas: 1) Computers are the only connection with the outside world that doesn’t require a companion or a guide for the visually impaired, and 2) a high level of computer literacy improves a blind person’s education level and chances of realizing his/her professional potential. The Foundation uses new technology to create adequate access to information and to develop ICT skills. Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Grant will be used to localize the ICT skills curriculum into Bulgarian. Having a Bulgarian-language curriculum will help increase the Foundation’s impact and enable wider access to quality ICT education for the visually impaired in Bulgaria.
Croatia
Hrvatska Udruga Informaticara (HSIN)—Bringing IT Knowledge to Underserved Communities
Established in 1985, Hrvatska Udruga Informaticara (HSIN) helps its member organizations (local NGOs) in promoting ICT among pupils and students. HSIN organizes courses and conducts training for teachers, pupils, and students. It also organizes programming competitions on the local, national, regional and international level. Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential grant of funding, curriculum, and software will enable HSIN to bring ICT skills to underprivileged groups in Croatia. HSIN will provide computer literacy training in ICT classrooms and through local NGOs. The project covers all 21 counties of Croatia and will touch a wide variety of underserved communities, including poor children, elderly citizens, the unemployed, refugees, minorities, those who are physically disabled, and former drug addicts.
Czech Republic
Charta 77, PCs Against Barriers
The project PCs Against Barriers was established in 1996 as a result of cooperation between Charta 77 and Microsoft Czech Republic. Each year in the Czech Republic, around 300 people become physically disabled as the result of injury caused by traffic, sporting accident, or leisure activity. Eighty percent of them are of productive age. Computers and the world of information technology provide opportunities for a rapid return to a full life. The main goal of PCs Against Barriers is to increase ICT literacy and skills for people with disabilities, to help them find new jobs, and to increase their self-confidence and financial independence.
The Microsoft UP grant will be used to provide ICT training in the existing 11 learning centers, establish 2 new CTCs in Rakovník (Central Bohemia) and in the Southern Bohemian region, and upgrade all CTCs to provide additional ICT training to people from underserved sectors of the population (women on maternity leave, immigrants, the unemployed, people with low levels of education, etc.).
Denmark
Aeldermobilisieringen—Unlocking the Potential of Senior Citizens
The Aeldermobilisieringen project enables senior citizens throughout Denmark to learn IT skills. Working with 50 existing CTCs (called Computer Cafés) across the country, Aeldermobilisieringen will help those who are 60+ years of age to use computers and attend training courses. These courses will be given by volunteer senior citizens who already have some IT knowledge and are trained in the Microsoft curriculum. Aeldermobilisieringen uses senior citizens as trainers because they understand the needs of their audience and are better able to communicate with other seniors. Acting as a trainer also gives these seniors a way to explore their potential. The project will train 5,000 senior citizens in the first year and, in the process, help them realize their potential and open them up to a new world of capability and knowledge.
Finland
Finnish MS Society—IT skills training for people with multiple sclerosis
This IT skills training project aims to increase use and knowledge of IT among young people with multiple sclerosis (MS). It is important for people with disabilities to learn about new ways to communicate and operate so that they can improve their socialization and employability. Microsoft accessible technologies, like sticky keys, will be used to train 12 trainers who also have MS. Two new training centers will be opened, for a total of three centers, with 150 people being trained in the first year. The MS Society has applied for aid from the European Union (EU) and has a long and successful track record in implementing EU projects.
France
Clique Sur Ta Ville—Community Development for the Unemployed
Clique Sur Ta Ville is a multi-year, multi-partner program that benefits from industry partners from each segment of the technology chain (hardware, software, Internet) playing key roles. By providing a comprehensive and tailored program of technology training for disadvantaged people, Clique addresses major and long-term socioeconomic issues for the French government and more generally for the country. In close cooperation with local public authorities, Clique provides train-the-trainer training, methods, and tools to CTCs so they can provide IT skills training (which is tailored to locally defined needs and requirements) to disadvantaged populations. During the first year, 1,250 people will be trained in 24 CTCs.
The Clique Sur Ta Ville program will be deployed in ten major cities in France and will extend into smaller cities in a second phase.
Emmaüs—Giving the Homeless IT Skills and Other Support
Established in 1953, Emmaüs is a well-known association whose mission is to help improve the lives of the poor and homeless. The Association has developed a number of facilities and initiatives, such as daily care centers, social hotels, housing, illiteracy initiatives, as well as health, food, accommodation, and preventive programs for young people and families.
In 2003, Microsoft France and Emmaüs opened a large computer-learning center called “the Agora,” which is located in one of the Emmaüs centers in Paris. The center provides free and continuous public access to 12 workstations, which are connected to the Internet and are fully equipped with all of Microsoft’s latest applications. Students can stay in touch with friends and family and receive IT skills training, assistance in finding a job, and guidance on administrative paperwork. They can get assistance with any of these activities from one of the 35 trainers at the center.
With a renewed Unlimited Potential grant, Microsoft France reinforced its already strong partnership with Emmaüs by providing support to two newly created CTCs, which are dedicated to young homeless women. Not only is Microsoft France continuing to fund training for the trainers and volunteers, but it is also helping to develop a software solution for the homeless to safely store their documents on a Web site. Over the course of the next year (2005-06), 1,600 people will receive training at eight CTCs.
St. Brieuc—Trainers for Unemployed and Disadvantaged Youth
St. Brieuc is an IT skills training program for disadvantaged people who face social, cultural, and economic difficulties, and who are particularly impacted by the digital divide. The program’s goal is to train future trainers to provide services to this disadvantaged population.
The training focuses on three specific target groups. The first is workers seeking professional integration through the Régie de Quartier, which is a local association whose personnel are from a retraining program for unemployed people. The Régie de Quartier (in charge of Cyber-base) offers training in Office and training of the Régie de Quartier personnel. The second group is asylum seekers (in charge of Mediacap), who receive training in Office. The third population includes animators and youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods. This part of the program focuses on the training of animators who are in permanent and direct contact with the youth in charge of the Cyber-base. A second step will be to train animators working in the Pays de Saint Brieuc area and throughout the whole département.
This project is part of the broader Clique Sur Ta Ville program and will serve as a pilot for extending the program to medium-sized cities in France. During the first year, 290 people will receive training in two CTCs.
Germany
Initiative D21, Jugend ans Netz
The Jugend ans Netz (Youth on the Web) program is an initiative of the German Federal Minister and D21, Germany's largest private-public partnership. Its mission is to create easier access to media technology for disadvantaged young people so they can learn skills needed for employment. The initiative equips youth centers throughout Germany with PCs, Internet connectivity, and a new learning curriculum tailored to the needs of young people. The UP grant will be used to increase the number of CTCs from 30 to 105, expand the organization's existing program onto an e-learning platform (www.lernscouts.de) with tailored job information, and provide teacher-training information throughout Germany. The aim is to train 2,000 young people in the first year.
Smart Mice—Breaking IT Barriers for Immigrants
The existing Smart Mice initiative supports preschool children of immigrants, refugees, and German parents with poor education. By extending the support to the parents of these children, the UP project fits perfectly into the subsidiary’s citizenship initiative, which is called “WissensWert” (the German implementation of PiL). Smart Mice uses a classroom training program based on the German UP curriculum to give parents basic training in practical IT techniques, such as filling out job applications, using spreadsheets for basic calculations, using Hotmail for e-mail, and using MSN Search for online research.
Smart Mice, together with the existing UP-program “Jugend ans Netz” (Youth Online), offers consistent training to two different but very important target groups in Germany. By including a free module of IT skills called “Computer Fundamentals” (from the German UP curriculum) with other training, Smart Mice is able to give a large group of socially, economically, and educationally weak citizens a chance to improve their basic computer and office skills. The target group’s lack of basic IT skills is a considerable barrier for their integration into the German school system, labor market, and, consequently, society.
The UP curriculum will be offered in classroom trainings on a weekly basis. During the first year, 1,200 people will be trained in one CTC.
Greece
The City of Athens, Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship—Supporting the Immigrant Community
The Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship will establish an ICT lab to provide immigrants and asylum seekers with basic computer knowledge. The lab will be created within the framework and spirit of the City of Athens’ Intercultural Center.
Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential grant will support a pilot ICT educational program for members of immigrant and refugee communities in Athens. The program’s goal is to educate some of the best trainees to work in the future as trainers to teach other immigrant students.
Foundation of Thracian Art and Tradition
Thrace is a remote area of Greece that has critical importance in history and culture. The community suffers from severe poverty, which has led to an exodus of the younger population. The Foundation for Thracian Art and Tradition was created in 1998 to study and promote the cultural heritage of Thrace, as well as to educate local youth in art, culture, and the use of technology. The foundation operates a Centre for the Study of Thracian Literary Tradition that offers local residents the opportunity to use information and communications technology to develop new skills.
The Microsoft UP grant will be used to increase the number of ICT classes for adults and to educate poor high school students from ethnic minorities and disadvantaged areas. The center will also conduct art and culture education using multimedia. As a result, participants will improve their chances for quality employment and increase their knowledge of historical heritage, arts, and culture.
Hungary
Budapest Polytechnic Foundation
The Budapest Polytechnic Foundation is implementing an educational program, supported by the EU Social Fund, that is designed for unemployed young women in the slum districts of Budapest. The program will provide training that will enable successful return to the job market. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will enable the foundation to develop and implement an additional ICT skills module for the program. The foundation expects that this new module will increase the opportunity for participants to reintegrate into working life by enabling them to find quality employment or start their own business.
Ireland
Dublin Inner City Partnership—IT Training for the Unemployed
Dublin Inner City Partnership (DICP) is an independent local development company that helps people who are experiencing long-term unemployment and socioeconomic disadvantage in inner-city Dublin. The project will bring IT skills programs to four established local community centers in the Dublin inner-city area, thereby building on the existing facilities and services offered within the centers. This program will provide access to computers and IT skills training to some of the most disadvantaged communities in Dublin. During the first year, 400 people will be trained in four CTCs.
Italy
Impress@Donne—Supporting Women in Underserved Areas
The goal of the Impress@Donne project is to provide IT skills and entrepreneurial support to women, especially in underserved areas.
The project will use a structured approach and many different media to reach its goal of training 10,000 people in two CTCs during the next year (2005-06).
AIM Internet Saloon—Provides IT Training to Senior Citizens
The goal of the AIM Internet Saloon project is to continue to provide Internet training to senior citizens in order to decrease the digital divide between senior citizens and the rest of the population. The project will take place in the Italian city that has the largest number of senior citizens. During the next year (2005-06), the project goal is to train 2,000 people in three CTCs.
Mamme@Web—Improving Job Prospects for Disadvantaged Women
Mamme@Web is a technology-training program dedicated to helping disadvantaged women get better jobs or improve their working positions, whether or not they are already employed. Women in the program can receive training whether they have children or not.
The project is organized in two phases. The first phase is a pilot that will research the need for and interest in this program in Italy. The pilot will also aim to get the attention of the media and the public and to recruit sponsors by organizing nine IT skills training sessions in nine selected cities. The second phase will consist of setting up IT skills training for women in CTCs in each region in Italy. Mamme@Web will work with Microsoft Italy on future plans for the program. The goal during the first year is to train 500 women in nine CTCs.
Kazakhstan
Namys Training Center—Providing a Training Center for the Disabled
Namys was established in 2002 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The organization’s mission is to protect the rights and interests of disabled people; advocate and support creation of equal opportunities and abilities for the disabled; and to use all possible means to integrate the disabled into society.
The Unlimited Potential grant will be used to support a training center for the disabled in Almaty. The ICT course participants will acquire basic computer skills for everyday use, as well as basic skills in Web design, clerical and secretarial work, and accounting.
Latvia
LITTA, Latvia@World
The principal objective of LITTA is to promote and further the development of information society in Latvia so that all citizens have the opportunity to benefit from ICT and contribute to the knowledge-based economy. The main goals of the project Latvia@World are to assist Latvia's population in overcoming the digital divide and social exclusion, to promote access to services available on the Internet, and to accelerate the development of information society in remote regions. The target group for the project is the inhabitants of rural areas who have no ICT knowledge or are lacking Internet experience. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will support ICT training in CTCs in Jekabpils, Valmiera, and Ventspils. In the near future the centers will also be able to coordinate and develop smaller CTCs in their regions.
Lithuania
Dvasines Pagalbos Jaunimui Centras (DPJC), Spiritual Help Center for Youth
DPJC provides spiritual, psychological, social, and moral support to youth in crisis, children from dysfunctional families, orphans, juvenile delinquents, and the elderly in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Through voluntary activities, youth learn to help themselves and others. The main goal of the project funded from the Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant is to provide favorable conditions and broad opportunities by creating a CTC, where participants will be taught ICT skills. These skills will provide them with an opportunity to actively participate in the information society.
Luxembourg
Caritas—Giving Asylum Seekers Valuable IT Training
The purpose and goals of the proposed Caritas project are to provide information technology training to asylum seekers, give asylum seekers access to the Internet, and provide three Caritas centers with computer equipment and Internet connections.
To function well in the modern world, every citizen needs to have a minimum knowledge of IT. The Caritas project aims to minimize the digital divide experienced by asylum seekers—a divide which adds to their social exclusion. IT knowledge gives asylum seekers in Luxembourg the opportunity to take part in the official school curriculum (via the PC), to gain access to public information, to network with others, to communicate with people in their home country, and to use this knowledge to contribute to the development of their home country when they return.
The Caritas refugee center in Mersch will offer IT training and the project will train 250 people in three CTCs in the first year.
Netherlands
Stichting Buurtbelangen, Stichting Eigenwijks—Dubble Klik (Double Click)
The aim of the project is to use IT skills training and language training to assist underserved immigrant communities around Amsterdam in becoming less isolated and more involved with the community. The goal is to enhance education, provide job training, and increase the entrepreneurial activities of the community. The project is called Dubbelklik (Doubleclick) and is already running as an interactive computer program using the Microsoft Unlimited Potential curriculum in IT skills. The program helps people with little education and little knowledge of the Dutch language master computer and basic language skills in a simple but effective way. A basic Dubbelklik course is currently running in eight publicly accessible locations in three districts. With Microsoft's donation, the program will expand from 10 to 16 centers; 110 people will receive training the first year.
Norway
Red Cross—Educating Immigrants across Age Groups
The primary target group for the Red Cross IT training will be senior, adult, and youth refugees/immigrants/first-generation Norwegians, all of whom have a strong potential to fall outside the digital society. The purpose of providing IT skills training is not only to increase digital inclusion but to build competencies that will help the target groups integrate into the education system and the job market. The use of technology will help them realize their potential in Norwegian society.
The CTC based in the Red Cross activity center in downtown Bergen opened in October 2004. Currently the center is open from 10 A.M. to 10 P.M., Monday through Friday, and provides different programs for different age groups during the day. Morning through early afternoon is for senior citizens, early afternoon to early evening for youth, and early evening until closing for adults. In the first year, 150 people will be trained in one CTC.
Poland
The Foundation Supporting Physically Disabled Computer Specialists
The Foundation Supporting Physically Disabled Computer Specialists was set up in 1990. It was initiated by the circles of the Institute of Information Technology Basics, Polish Academy of Science. The primary aim of the foundation is vocational and social activation of people with severe disabilities. According to the mission of the foundation, people with disabilities are provided with the qualifications for an interesting, quality job. The foundation strives to show people how to renounce unemployment and how to overcome acquired passivity. The beneficiaries of the project funded by the Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will be people with physical disabilities who are unemployed or who are currently employed and desire to improve their professional qualifications or to develop their career paths. Traditional training in two CTCs will be available for inhabitants of Warsaw and the surrounding areas, while e-learning courses will be accessible to people all over Poland.
SOS Children's Villages—Setting Up CTLCs in Remote/Rural Areas
SOS Children’s Villages is the largest non-governmental, non-denominational child welfare organization in the world, providing orphaned children with stable, permanent homes and families for more than 50 years. Founded in Europe after World War II, SOS Children’s Villages today cares for children in more than 131 countries. SOS Children’s Villages started in Poland in 1984.
Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential grant will help SOS Children’s Villages transform three existing small computer centers located in its facilities in Lubelskie voivodship (one of the poorest regions in the European Union) into fully functional CTCs. The ICT skills and literacy provided in these centers will allow local community members to take advantage of modern information technology and improve their competitiveness in the local labor market.
Portugal
Cais Digital—IT Skills for Immigrants and the Unemployed
Cais Digital, an IT skills training program for the unemployed and immigrants, is making intensive use of the Microsoft UP Curriculum. Started in November 2004, the program is now fully functional. There are eight computers used for training courses, with three courses running simultaneously during the morning, afternoon, and evening. Additionally, there are six computers that will be available for use by the regular visitors to the CTC starting March 1, 2006.
A second CTC (Porto) was opened in May 2005. Over the course of the year (2005-06), 150 people will be trained in two CTCs.
CITEVE—Retraining Immigrants and the Unemployed
The objective of this project is to retrain unemployed textile workers and those under threat of unemployment for other work. This retraining is part of a strategy to increase employment prospects in parts of the country where the textile industry has had a strong presence in the past, but where the appearance of new competitors is leading to high rates of unemployment. In partnership with CITEVE, the technological arm of the textile industry, the project will train 700 people in four CTCs during the first year.
Escolhas—Training Youth and Children Throughout Portugal
During 2005 and 2006, Programa Escolhas 2ª Geração will target a community of 18,579 youth and children from the most underserved areas of the country. The program will conduct 87 learning projects that represent the dedication and initiative of 412 local institutions, with over 394 technicians dedicated full-time to the challenge. In the first year, training will take place in 79 CTCs throughout the country with over 2,400 youth receiving the Microsoft UP Curriculum.
Romania
Civitas Foundation for Civil Society—Training Youth in Rural Communities
The Civitas Foundation for Civil Society was founded in 1992. The founders decided to establish a non-profit organization to enhance public administration capacity and to stimulate citizen involvement in decision-making and local governance, including human rights protection, civic education, and environmental protection.
In cooperation with Microsoft, the Foundation will develop a long-term project to teach ICT skills to youth in rural communities. One of the project’s goals is to make it possible through training to help young people contribute to development of their communities.
Fundatia EOS Romania—Community Development
The goal of Fundatia EOS is to facilitate an open society and promote sustainable development in Romania by enabling young people to acquire social and economic entrepreneurial skills and receive ICT training. In cooperation with Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Program, EOS developed a three-year project to establish Outreach Community Training Facilities in three underserved communities located in Timis, a county in the western part of Romania.
The Outreach Community Training Centers will primarily address the growing digital divide between urban and rural communities by providing opportunities for all members of the community to acquire the skills and abilities required for information literacy and knowledge creation. These skills are essential for participation in and development of democracy and an open society.
Russia
UNDP and Red Cross—Supporting Refugees
Operating in more than 120 countries, UNHCR continues to help an estimated 19.8 million persons who are refugees in communities outside of their homelands. In 2004 UNDP, in cooperation with the Red Cross and Microsoft, set up a CTC in St. Petersburg, Russia. This CTC delivers ICT training to Afghan, Rwandan, Iraqi, and other refugees.
The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant that was awarded in 2005 will support the center’s operations, which will help facilitate the local integration and self-reliance of local refugees through increasing competitiveness in the market and better job opportunities.
Serbia and Montenegro
International Aid Network—IT Training for Refugees and Unemployed Women
The International Aid Network is a non-governmental humanitarian organization active since 1997 in the field of mental health promotion. To support cross-border human rights protection, the Network provides psychosocial, educational, legal, and informational assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable persons in Serbia and Montenegro.
Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential grant will support the delivery of ICT training to the underserved groups that the Network works with, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, and unemployed women.
Slovakia
Mosty
The NGO Mosty was established in 1997. It focuses on tackling the problems of people with disabilities and the community at large by finding opportunities and ways for people to integrate with their everyday environment. Mosty currently focuses on restoring fair relations among diverse, often antagonistic ethnic, religious, or other communities by creating opportunities that facilitate mutual communication. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will be used to fund the long-term project Chances with No Barriers, which aims to enable youth, the unemployed, and people with disabilities to acquire IT skills and provides them with free access to the Internet in three CTCs in Michalovce, Liptovsky Mikulas, and Bratislava-Petrzalka.
Slovenia
CNVOS
CNVOS (centre for information service, cooperation and development of NGOs in Slovenia) was established in 2001. Its mission is to empower the NGOs of Slovenia to better achieve their goals, establish partnerships and cooperation among nongovernmental organizations on national and international levels, and support developmental projects in the area of nongovernmental organizations. It does so by connecting the majority of Slovenian NGOs (4,000) into a network that covers all regions of the country. CNVOS draws special attention to underdeveloped areas that are poverty stricken and helps them "catch up" with more developed urban areas. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will be used to support 15 CTCs located in rural areas of Slovenia. The CTCs provide services to the unemployed, low-income families and individuals, refugees, and at-risk youth. The development of ICT skills will eventually lead to course participants improving their employment opportunities and to local economical development.
Spain
Red Conecta—Increasing Digital Literacy in Existing Networks
Connect Now wants to increase the digital literacy of the most disadvantaged social groups by changing personal attitudes and enhancing personal development in an objective way. The Connect Now project has two major objectives: To improve the social inclusion of disadvantaged people and to develop the information society. The target groups are youth, women, and immigrants, with priority for those with fewer resources.
The project combines two programs: 1) Conecta e-inclusion, a program for young people, women, and immigrants that is based in the Red Conecta network centers and 500 other centers in associated networks and, 2) Young Conecta, a program specifically for young people that is based on a service learning plan used in the high schools.
A key characteristic of the project is that it devotes the majority of its resources to building knowledge and motivation. Instead of building structures and buying equipment, it saves money by making use of existing networks, such as Red Conecta, the high schools, and other public and private telecenter networks. The project has a three-year deadline for making the desired impact. The goal is to train 21,500 people in 73 CTCs in the first year.
Red Cross, Ciberaulas
The goal of the project Ciberaulas is to create eight community technology centers for vulnerable groups, including immigrants, women, young people, and people with disabilities. At each of these centers people will have access to the Internet and IT skills training that will improve their opportunities for employment. The goal is to develop an e-learning network that will promote social cohesion and provide training to 2,500 people during the first year.
Sweden
IT Café in the Hemse Library, Hemse
The IT Café in Hemse is a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization that provides disadvantaged groups in Sweden with access to technology and opportunities to increase their knowledge and skill with computers. On a yearly basis, the café provides computer access and instruction for 100 seniors and people with disabilities. The café offers a specialized program for people with disabilities, using simple and flexible adaptations that permit more people to use the same product or service. The project aims to give people with disabilities and seniors the opportunity to acquire computer skills and access to IT. The grant will be used to expand the education program, hire staff, and expand the training to other local libraries.
Pensioners National Organisation (PRO), IT skills for seniors
PRO is the largest nonprofit organization for Swedish senior citizens. It has 385,000 beneficiaries supported at 1,500 local organizations in 26 districts. PRO has a large education program in IT for its members. In 2002 and 2003, PRO held trainings in 144 municipalities and reached 6,800 learners. The Microsoft grant will focus on training trainers at Gysinge, a local college. These teachers will train more teachers in the PRO districts. PRO also supports teachers in centers in rural communities. The training target for this year is 6,000 senior learners in 26 centers.
Ukraine
Institute of the Information Society—Using ICT to Retrain the Unemployed
The Institute of the Information Society was established in 2001. The objectives and goals of the Institute include development of the information society in Ukraine; implementation of high-tech initiatives for governance in state and business sectors; application of ICT to help build democracy in Ukraine; and augmentation of technological literacy in the Ukrainian population.
The project, which is supported by Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Program, is designed to help the social rehabilitation of unemployed and temporarily disabled workers. The purpose of the project is not only to teach people how to use software or hardware, but to foster the development of business initiatives in the industrialized regions of Ukraine that have the highest unemployment rates. These initiatives include training people how to use current information technologies and how to apply these skills in daily business.
United Kingdom
FIT—Community Development in Belfast
FIT is an industry partnership working in collaboration with government, local development agencies, and marginalized communities. It is committed to the socioeconomic transformation of disadvantaged people through the development and deployment of innovative ICT training that is designed to provide greater employment opportunities. The FIT NI project will establish FIT programs in Northern Ireland, initially in Belfast. Through this program, marginalized job seekers can receive industry-supported ICT training, work experience, and employment support. During the first year, 80 people will be trained in eight CTCs.
Citizens Online, Learning Awards—Community Development
The Microsoft Community Learning Awards 2005 are similar to those granted in 2004, but with a number of enhancements resulting from a review of the 2004 awards. These enhancements include a small increase in the grant amount (from £2000 to £2500 per winner), and a small increase in the number of awards granted (from 25 to 30).
The awards provide grass-roots support across the UK to community-run and community-based projects for IT skills training. Microsoft Ltd, in support of the Unlimited Potential program, helps identify the award recipients with preference given to those who provide national reach, but on a local scale and in a manageable way. This increases awareness of Microsoft within hundreds (if not thousands) of communities, and provides supportive groundwork for any future global community technology support network.
Based on the 2004 awards, winners will span a wide range of community groups, including those with geographic focus and those supporting key client groups (such as the disabled, ethnic minorities, youth, and women) During the year (2005-06), 1,500 people will receive training in 30 CTCs.
Leonard Cheshire, Discover IT—Mentoring Disabled Students
Discover IT is an exciting and ambitious long-term program that will see Leonard Cheshire open a series of community-based IT training rooms within its existing services. By basing the Discover IT suites within existing services, Leonard Cheshire can guarantee that the training environments are fully accessible to disabled people, that the right transportation to and from the center is provided, and that the right medical and care professionals are on hand when needed. They can also ensure that the equipment is customized with suitable adaptations for use by disabled clients regardless of any limitations on physical dexterity that they may have as a result of a disability.
In addition to making the physical environment and equipment accessible, the whole ethos of the training program is accessible. Centers use a simple but unique “one-to-one” approach to determine the opportunities for each participant. This mentoring approach continues throughout the training, which helps the disabled students develop confidence with computers and encourages them to undertake more formal IT training.
Over the course of the year (2005-06), 300 students will receive training in six CTCs.
Metropolitan Police, The Karrot Project
The Karrot Project is a government-funded project that aims to increase school attendance, foster positive behavior for at-risk youth, and reduce youth crime. A key element of this program is providing IT skills training through a mobile Internet bus, targeting the most deprived areas of the borough. Unlimited Potential funding will be used to research possibilities for extending the current project to providing IT skills training in fixed community centers. Funding will also be used to support an IT suite for one of the most active fixed centers in the borough. A network of 10 PCs will be provided for the YESS Community School, which supports more than 150 young people excluded from mainstream education.
Scarman, Net Coaches—Supporting Community Development
The Net Coaches program seeks to build community capacity for and foster awareness of IT training in 300 communities across England and Wales. The Technicians Program offers further capacity building by supplementing and complementing the Net Coaches and increasing local sustainability and community capacity. The Everybody Online training Hub will build on the work done to date to develop toolkits for community development. These toolkits include approaches to digital inclusion, share knowledge, and provide case studies, network opportunities, and different forms of training. During the first year, 1,360 people will receive training in 300 CTCs.
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