Microsoft congratulates the following Unlimited Potential (UP) grant recipients. We are proud to support their work.
Regional
Committee for Democracy in Information Technology (CDI)
CDI aims to foster social inclusion by promoting the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in low-income communities as a tool to encourage active citizenship. CDI partners with community-based organizations to train local educators, who then provide IT training to underserved communities, including people with disabilities, homeless children, and indigenous populations. Since it first partnered with CDI in 1999, Microsoft has helped CDI establish and expand its presence throughout Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, and most recently, Colombia, through Microsoft Unlimited Potential cash grants and software donations. Currently, CDI has more than 960 Information Technology and Citizens Rights Schools in Latin America and has provided IT skills training to over 600,000 individuals in Latin America. This Unlimited Potential grant will be used to improve operations and infrastructure at the CDI headquarters, which is responsible for supporting 48 regional centers throughout the Americas.
IDB Youth/Microsoft Unlimited Potential
Microsoft Unlimited Potential and the Inter-American Development Bank's Youth Program (IDB Youth) will jointly fund the Youth Development Program for Innovation and Social Action, a US$1 million fund that will support eligible nonprofit organizations across the region. The objective of the program is to broaden IT skills and economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth in Latin America and the Caribbean by strengthening initiatives undertaken by or for young people that contribute to their development as individuals and to the development of their communities. The program will provide financial and in-kind support for projects that promote the use of new information and communication technologies and include activities that foster life and job skills.
Partners of the Americas
Partners of the Americas founded Fundación A Ganar and Instituto Companheiros da Américas (ICA) in 2004 and 2005, respectively. This Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant will support Partners of the Americas in its mandate to execute and implement the A Ganar/Vencer program in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Ganar/Vencer is based on the premise that team sports are an effective way to help people develop employment skills that are needed in today's global economy. A key component of this program is equipping youth with essential IT skills so that they can gain employment in today's market.
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
The Trust for the Americas, an affiliate of the OAS, fosters partnerships among corporations, foundations, government agencies, and academic institutions in the Americas. The Trust's mission is to mobilize resources to confront extreme poverty and to promote democracy through actions that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable, reflecting the central goals of the OAS. Through Microsoft Unlimited Potential support for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), the Trust has established 29 community technology centers (CTCs) for people with disabilities and at-risk youth in Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. This Unlimited Potential grant will support eight additional CTCs while strengthening existing centers in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Argentina. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and will work with local partners and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. Additionally, the Trust will focus on securing job placements for its participants and on providing access to the community at large.
Argentina
Fundación Equidad
Fundación Equidad is a nongovernmental organization that promotes social equality and economic development through information and communication technology (ICT). Equidad's activities include providing ICT training to underserved communities and promoting best practices in the use of ICT for development. Microsoft Unlimited Potential grants first supported Equidad in 2004 to establish a community technology center (CTC) in Buenos Aires. This CTC provides training in IT and job skills to unemployed youth and adults. Equidad's new project, Reciclar (Recycle), is also a technology training program. The project reaches out to underserved communities and provides recycled personal computers (donated by companies and refurbished by young people) to other nonprofit organizations, which, in turn, use them for IT skills training. In addition to running computer recycling workshops to train unemployed youth and donating the computers to eligible organizations, Fundación Equidad provides technical assistance to IT trainers from those organizations, using Microsoft curricula for digital literacy courses.
Organization of American States (OAS)/Trust for the Americas
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas currently has one community technology center (CTC) in Buenos Aires. This CTC provides ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. With this funding, the Trust will establish an additional center in Rosario with its local partner, CILSA. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and will work with Fundacion Par and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Brazil
Associação Educacional e Profissionalizante Pérola
Associação Educacional e Profissionalizante Pérola's mission is to promote active citizenship and leadership among underserved youth while providing them with training in the skills they need for employment. In January 2000, the organization installed one computer in its facility that served 64 underprivileged students. Today the community center has 10 computers and has served more than 4,000 youth throughout the state of São Paulo, offering courses ranging from basic computer applications and Internet skills to advanced training in Microsoft Office Excel and hardware repair. Forty-four students have received scholarships at local universities, and others have gone on to seek their first jobs. Microsoft Unlimited Potential support will strengthen four of the community technology centers and train additional computer literacy teachers.
Comunitas – Programa Rede Jovem
Comunitas is a nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen civil society and promote social development throughout Brazil. Comunitas supports a network of national programs and is active in 26 Brazilian states and the federal district, 2,000 municipalities, and nine metropolitan regions. Microsoft first supported Comunitas in 2005 with a Microsoft Unlimited Potential donation to help strengthen the organization's network of 52 community technology centers (CTCs) and to support an e-learning program. This year, Microsoft will partner with the city government of São Paulo to strengthen the Rede Jovem (Youth Network) project through support for five additional CTCs in the city of São Paulo. The Rede Jovem program will continue to serve underprivileged youth, providing them with training in the IT and jobs skills they need to gain employment and become more competitive in the labor market. These CTCs will serve as a model for a network of telecenters that will eventually be managed by the city of São Paulo.
Instituto de Tecnologia Social (ITS)
ITS is a nonprofit organization based in São Paulo whose mission is to promote the development and use of technologies to advance social development in underserved communities. This project will offer IT skills training to people with disabilities under an inclusive framework that allows people to learn in the same environment regardless of whether they have a disability. With the help of a Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant, ITS will adapt five community technology centers to make them accessible to citizens with disabilities and will train instructors to teach IT courses using adaptive technology. Additionally, ITS will provide job skills training to better prepare participants for the work force.
Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS)
IAS is a nonprofit organization that provides education opportunities for underserved children, teenagers, and adults to help them develop their potential as citizens and to help them prepare for the modern workforce. IAS has its main office in São Paulo and provides programs nationwide. This project, Comunidade Conectada (Connected Community), is part of a multiyear Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) grant that has established five community technology centers (CTCs) in disadvantaged communities throughout Brazil. The goal of the CTCs is to promote citizenship and social development through the use of information and communication technology. With the continued support of Microsoft, IAS will strengthen the existing centers and will also develop a teaching methodology to help other nongovernmental organizations effectively use the Microsoft UP curriculum.
Committee for Democracy in Information Technology (CDI), São Paulo
Through its Information Technology and Citizens Rights Schools (ITCRSs), CDI partners with community-based organizations to train local educators, who then provide IT training to underserved communities, including people with disabilities, homeless children, and indigenous populations.
The main objective of this project, part of a multiyear Microsoft Unlimited Potential donation, is to strengthen CDI's network of 50 ITCRSs throughout the state of São Paulo. With the help of Microsoft funding, CDI will provide advanced media and communications training to its technology instructors. These instructors will teach community members to develop Web sites, create e-newsletters, and produce videos to promote active citizenship and community engagement. Courses will also offer advanced training in word processing, spreadsheets, and database management. In addition, CDI will offer workshops to teach youth how to repair, refurbish, and sell used computers. This project, the Fabrica de Cidadania, will be self-sustainable as a result of the income generated by program participants.
Associação Alfabetização Solidária (ALFASOL)
ALFASOL's mission is to decrease illiteracy rates among children and adults in Brazil. By working collaboratively with a vast network of partners, including universities, companies, communities, and all levels of government, ALFASOL trains local teachers to provide literacy courses to the community at large. With a Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant, ALFASOL's Digital Literacy Project will establish two community technology centers in two states in northeastern Brazil, incorporating IT training into its literacy program for both teacher training and student learning.
Fundação Pensamento Digital (FPD)
FPD's mission is to provide an opportunity for underserved communities to access information and communication technology (ICT) and to promote active citizenship and lifelong learning. Since 2000, FPD has equipped and connected grassroots organizations from low-income communities with computers and Internet access, guiding and training their staff to integrate technology into their educational programs. Through this Microsoft Unlimited Potential grant, FPD will expand its Digital Cooperation Network Program by training 88 additional educators from underserved areas. These educators will support 18 community technology centers. Using the Microsoft Peer Coaching Program, local educators will learn to serve as peer coaches for their colleagues, enabling them to work together to enhance instruction while helping them develop the necessary technology skills needed to integrate technology into teaching and learning.
Instituto Companheiros da Américas (ICA)/Partners of the Americas
Instituto Companheiros da Américas was founded in 2005 by the Partners of the Americas, which implements and executes the Vencer program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Vencer is based on the premise that team sports are an effective way to help people develop the employment skills that are needed in today's global economy. A key component of this project is equipping youth with essential IT skills that they need to gain employment in a competitive job market. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, ICA will establish six community technology centers this year.
Instituto Crescer para a Cidadania
Instituto Crescer para a Cidadania is a nonprofit organization that develops social responsibility programs for companies and institutions. Through its Partners in Learning (PIL) program, Microsoft first partnered with Instituto Crescer in 2004 to localize the student content of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) curriculum to Portuguese. As a result of this effort, Portuguese UP curriculum CDs and booklets were printed for use by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), schools, and government throughout Brazil. This year, Instituto Crescer will use funding to help manage the Microsoft software donation process in Brazil and to distribute the UP and Digital Literacy curricula to other NGOs throughout the country. Additionally, Instituto Crescer will provide technical assistance to trainers involved with other UP projects to ensure that high-quality training is provided to the communities served by those initiatives.
Chile
Fundación Chile
Fundación Chile's mission is to introduce innovation and to develop human capital in key clusters of the Chilean economy through technology management. Working in alliance with local and global knowledge networks, Fundación Chile advances this mission by creating innovative enterprises; developing, adapting, and selling technologies; fostering institutional innovation; and capturing and disseminating technologies to multiple users through seminars, specialized magazines, and project assistance. Last year, Fundación Chile received Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding to develop a training program through which underserved youth and unemployed adults can receive the International Computer Driving License (ICDL), an internationally recognized certification that indicates an individual's competency in basic computer applications, thereby increasing employment opportunities. As the managing partner of the initiative, Fundación Chile works with several other organizations that prepare participants for certification in communities throughout Chile.
Colombia
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
The Trust for the Americas fosters partnerships among corporations, foundations, government agencies, and academic institutions in the Americas. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential support, the Trust's Mi Llave program will establish two Digital Opportunity Centers and will train displaced and demobilized persons in information and communication technologies, helping them gain technical, entrepreneurial, and vocational skills. Mi Llave will be further enhanced through modules financed by USAID that are designed to facilitate reparation and reconciliation processes within participating communities.
Fundacion Mi Sangre
Fundacion Mi Sangre helps reintegrate survivors of explosions from landmines and undetonated ammunition into society in Colombia. The program helps civilians by providing integral educational solutions that include psychological rehabilitation, elementary and high school education, technical training for employment, educational subsidies, and reintegration into the workplace. With this Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, Fundacion Mi Sangre will enhance its employment training component through digital technology and IT training. Additionally, the program will adapt community training centers in Medellin and Antioquia to provide training courses for people with disabilities.
Costa Rica
Vision Mundial (World Vision)
Vision Mundial is a relief and development organization dedicated to transforming the lives of children and their families by tackling the causes of poverty. In 2004, Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) support enabled Vision Mundial to establish three community technology centers (CTCs) in northern Costa Rica. Last year, UP funding helped Vision Mundial establish new CTCs in San Jose de Upala and Los Chiles, two of Costa Rica's least developed areas. This year, Vision Mundial, in partnership with San Jose's City Hall, will support the Carmen Lyra Technology Center, an initiative to provide technology access and training in basic IT skills to individuals of all ages in the district of Pavas. Vision Mundial will work with City Hall to determine the target communities and will also administer the program.
Dominican Republic
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas has established two community technology centers in Santo Domingo that provide ICT access and skills training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and will work with its local partner, the First Lady's Office, and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Esperanza International, Inc.
Esperanza International's mission is to free children and their families from poverty through initiatives that generate income, provide education, promote health, and restore self-worth and dignity to those who have lost hope. Esperanza focuses on three activities: microenterprise development (MED), community development, and environmental health. Last year, Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding helped Esperanza establish five community technology centers (CTCs) that provide IT skills training for students from neighboring schools and for microentrepreneurs interested improving their businesses. The centers are also open to the community, offering basic IT courses taught by graduates of the program. This year, Esperanza will establish five additional CTCs in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce and Microsoft.
Ecuador
Federación Nacional de Ecuatorianos con Discapacidad Física (FENEDIF)
FENEDIF's mission is to support, advocate, and provide technical assistance to organizations that serve people with disabilities so that they can play an active role in society. With support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential, this project will complement FENEDIF's ongoing initiatives by equipping five rural telecenters with adaptive technology for people with disabilities and providing training in basic computer applications so that they can gain employment.
Fundación Derechos del Niño/Programa Muchacho Trabajador (PMT)
The mission of Fundación Derechos del Niño/PMT is to eradicate child exploitation in Ecuador. PMT focuses on promoting and defending the rights of children living in impoverished conditions. To support this, PMT trains educators throughout the country to strengthen teaching methodologies. With funding from Microsoft Unlimited Potential, this project will strengthen 13 community technology centers throughout the country to provide opportunities for young people, including Colombian refugees and people with physical disabilities, to supplement their formal education. Course areas include leadership training, civic participation, and job readiness through IT training.
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas has established two community technology centers in Quito and Cuenca that provide ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and will work with its local partner, Fundación Derechos del Niño/Programa del Muchacho Trabajador, and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
El Salvador
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), the Trust has established three community technology centers in San Salvador and Soyapongo that provide ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. With this funding, Trust for the Americas will establish an additional center in Soyapongo in partnership with Universidad Don Bosco. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and will work with its local partners, Funter and Fundaeduca, and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Guatemala
Cooperative for Education (COED)
COED is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in rural Guatemala by creating self-sustaining textbook, library, and computer center projects in impoverished community schools. It strives to improve both traditional and technological literacy and to lay the cornerstone for greater economic development and empowerment. Last year, Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding was used with matching contributions from Rotary International and the Mathile Family Foundation to establish six community technology centers (CTCs). The CTCs, which provide technology access to indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala's western highlands, are used by students during the day and are available to community members in evenings and on weekends. This year, COED will establish an additional six CTCs.
Trust for the Americas/Organization of American States (OAS)
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas has established five community technology centers in Guatemala City, Mazatenango, Mixco, Escuintla, and Quetzaltenango that provide ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. In addition to ICT and job skills training, the Trust will continue to work with its local partners, Comite Prociegos y Sordos de Guatemala and Fundabiem, and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Jamaica
Children First
Children First works with at-risk youth to improve their opportunities and help them contribute to society. Microsoft Unlimited Potential first supported Children First in 2005 to help establish two community technology centers (CTCs) in Spanish Town and Old Harbour Bay. These CTCs taught children who were living on the streets to be responsible citizens and offered them relevant IT skills training. After completing their coursework, program participants go on to do apprenticeships, attend other vocational institutions, or find employment. This year, the grant to Children First will establish an additional CTC in Spanish Town, one of the most crime-ridden areas of Jamaica. Children First will continue providing IT skills training to underserved youth. Emphasis will be on basic computer skills, Web development, office productivity, video editing, and graphic design.
Mexico
Committee for Democracy in Information Technology (CDI), Mexico
Through its Information Technology and Citizens Rights Schools (ITCRSs), CDI partners with community-based organizations to train local educators, who then provide IT training to underserved communities, including people with disabilities, homeless children, and indigenous populations. In 2004, Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) funding supported CDI Mexico in launching a program called Basic IT Skills for the Unemployed. This included a grant that was used to establish 12 community technology centers (CTCs). In 2005 and 2006, UP funded an initiative to strengthen CDI's activities in the state of Oaxaca and the CiberTlalpan initiative, which promotes digital inclusion in the community of Tlalpan, one of the poorest districts in Mexico City. CDI and the district government partnered to develop 20 CTCs. In addition to providing IT training, these CTCs serve as a space to train instructors, conduct computer refurbishing workshops, and provide technical assistance to other nongovernmental organizations. This year, through alliances with Microsoft and the Bancomer Foundation, CDI will continue setting up regional offices to oversee local centers while embarking on an initiative to establish a total of 90 CTCs by 2010.
Organization of American States (OAS)/Trust for the Americas
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas currently has four community technology centers in Mexico City, Campeche, Morelia, and Estado de Mexico that provide ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. With this funding, the Trust will establish three additional centers in Veracruz, Nuevo Leon, and San Luis Potosi in partnership with CECATI, Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud (IMJ), and Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and to work with its local partners and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Union de Empresarios para la Tecnologia en la Educacion (UNETE)
UNETE's primary goal is to provide basic IT infrastructure, including computers and access to the Internet and educational television, to public primary and secondary schools throughout Mexico. In 2000, Microsoft Mexico and UNETE launched the Aula Movil (Mobile Classroom) initiative, which provides technology access and IT training in rural and remote communities by using a bus that is fully equipped with modern information technology. Funding in 2006 supported a second mobile learning center, and with this additional Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, UNETE will take advantage of the existing facilities it administers in the state of Veracruz by strengthening eight community technology centers (CTCs). These CTCs, housed in Mexican public schools, will be open in the afternoons on weekdays and will offer IT training for children, parents, and teachers from the local communities.
Asociación Pro Mujer de Mexico (Pro Mujer)
Asociación Pro Mujer de Mexico is part of the Pro Mujer International network, a women's development organization whose mission is to provide Latin America's poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microlending, business training, and health-care support. Pro Mujer establishes sustainable microfinance institutions that offer credit and training programs geared to the needs of poor, undereducated women who either operate a small business or would like to open one. Currently the organization serves about 15,000 women at more than 700 communal banks, covering more than 27 different communities in four states (Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, and Estado de Mexico). As an integral part of its vision, Pro Mujer will now offer training in basic IT skills to integrate women loan recipients into the modern economy and, at the same time, enable them to use those new tools to improve their businesses. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential support, Pro Mujer will establish community technology centers in four of its branches.
Panama
Mona Foundation
The Mona Foundation's mission is to support grassroots educational initiatives and raise the status of women and girls in the United Sates and abroad. In an effort to expand education opportunities for indigenous communities in Panama, the Mona Foundation and Microsoft established the first community technology center (CTC) in the Ngabe Bugle community. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) funding, the CTC, located in the community's radio station, provides basic computer skills and technology training for teachers, students, and community members during after-school hours. This year, UP and the Mona Foundation will help establish a CTC in the Camarca region to serve Ngabe Bugle University, the first university established on indigenous land in Panama.
Peru
Organization of American States (OAS)/Trust for the Americas
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas currently has one community technology center in Cuzco that provides ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. With this funding, the Trust will establish an additional center in Cuzco with its local partner, MECVIDA. The Trust will continue to provide ICT and job skills training and to work with MECVIDA and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico TechnoEconomic Corridor (PRTEC)
PRTEC is a nonprofit conglomerate of public and private entities that have common economic and social interests and have united to facilitate economic development in Puerto Rico. PRTEC promotes innovation and development. The organization assesses the skills needed by the private sector and works to align course offerings from educational organizations in the region to provide training in these skills. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential support, PRTEC will establish a community technology center (CTC) in its own facilities. The CTC will provide IT and job skills training to low-income communities in the area of Mayagüez and will train trainers to support its network of CTCs across Puerto Rico. Additionally, in partnership with the Puerto Rican Office of Special Communities, PRTEC will support 19 technology centers in the western region by structuring a curriculum designed for underserved youth and by offering Microsoft certification programs. Internship opportunities will be available for youth to work in companies that support the initiative.
Trinidad and Tobago
Community Intervention Transforming Youth (CITY)
CITY is a community revitalization program that began in East Port of Spain, Trinidad, in the Gonzales community. It seeks to build the capacity of residents to manage social programs and infrastructure projects, find employment, and prevent crime. These programs together are known as Pride in Gonzales, a partnership between the City of Port of Spain, the Canadian Institute of Planners, and CITY. With funding from Microsoft Unlimited Potential and other donors, CITY will establish two community technology centers and will be the home of the Work Place of Tomorrow project, which seeks to provide IT and job skills training to underserved youth in Port of Spain. One important goal of the program is to ensure that beneficiaries can use IT as the basis for obtaining employment or starting a microenterprise. More broadly, CITY hopes to build Trinidad's knowledge economy and to advance the socioeconomic progress of the community.
Uruguay
Fundación A Ganar/Partners of the Americas
Fundación A Ganar was founded in 2004 by the Partners of the Americas, which has a mandate to execute and implement the A Ganar program in Montevideo, Uruguay. A Ganar is based on the premise that team sports are an effective way to help people develop employment skills that are needed in today's global economy. A key component of the project is equipping youth with essential IT skills so that they can find employment in a competitive job market. With Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, A Ganar will establish two community technology centers to reach underserved youth in Uruguay this year.
Venezuela
Organization of American States (OAS)/Trust for the Americas
Through support from Microsoft Unlimited Potential for its regional program, Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), Trust for the Americas has established three community technology centers in Caracas and Güiria that provide ICT access and training to people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and the community at large. The Trust will continue to offer ICT and job skills training and to work with its local partners, REDSOC, ORT, FUNDAPROCURA, and OAS country offices to educate local businesses and government representatives about the importance of providing job access to people with disabilities. It will also work to secure job placements for program participants.
Asociación Civil de Tecnologías de Información de Venezuela (ACTIVE)
ACTIVE offers education programs and human services to low-income members of the Venezuelan armed forces to facilitate their transition back into civilian life. The organization works with the Venezuelan armed forces to provide basic IT courses for thousands of active rank-and-file members so that they are better equipped to find jobs after completing their service. With the help of Microsoft Unlimited Potential funding, ACTIVE will strengthen eight community technology centers that will serve active members and their families. Participants will also have the option of becoming certified in various advanced software applications. ACTIVE works in partnership with Fundación para la Asistencia Social del Ministerio de la Defensa (FUNDASMIN).
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