Microsoft congratulates the following Unlimited Potential (UP) grant recipients. We are proud to support their work.
Regional
Matandao Africa
Focusing on cross-cultural collaboration, this program encourages the creation of multinational teams from all over Africa. These teams will prepare African youth to enter the work force in the global economy, where geographical, language, and cultural barriers no longer exist. Funding from Microsoft will be used for the institutional development process and for management of the program.
Algeria
CTCs for Youth Empowerment
Microsoft, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth in Algeria and ICTDAR, established this project to set up 10 CTCs within the Home for Young organization. The project will provide young people with access to high-tech resources and training in basic IT skills. It will also educate young people about their rights and their duty to their countries, building a new era of entrepreneurial-minded leaders. These centers will allow young people to seek out job opportunities using IT and will serve as access points for the surrounding schools.
Egypt
Integrated Care Society
This program for youth empowerment and small and medium-sized enterprise development aims to improve the vocational training of young men and women in Egypt. It focuses on building IT capacity and personal and business skills for participants to empower them to compete in the increasingly demanding job market. The program also offers young people the opportunity to successfully establish their own businesses, thereby reducing unemployment levels. The Integrated Care Society works to enhance productivity and to open opportunities through the use of ITC, as well as to empower young people to become leaders in society. The project seeks to improve overall community development, which is, in turn, a step toward building a competitive global society.
MCIT Clubs
The goal of this project is to enhance socioeconomic conditions by providing underserved people with the chance to improve their IT skills base, thereby giving them an opportunity to improve their career prospects. The program extends throughout Egypt in the government-established IT clubs. Microsoft and UNDP provide the grants that fund the training for instructors, and Microsoft also provides curriculum. Many of the older IT clubs are now at the beginning stages of self sufficiency. Additionally, the program is working with Microsoft Egypt Mega Club, a Web portal that functions as a support system and a platform for discussion for all connected with the IT clubs. The program aims to work with telecentre.org in the future.
Israel
Zionism 2000
The project's plan was initiated by Microsoft Israel and is led by a multisector coalition. The goal of this program is to provide underserved youth in Israel with an equal opportunity to compete in the knowledge economy by providing access to IT content and skills training. The program's mission is to reach underserved youth with the UP curriculum and other IT learning programs by 2010. This initiative is the first of its kind in Israel to have a coalition of multinational companies such as Microsoft and Cisco working together with the Prime Minister's office and in partnership with NGOs to further digital inclusion.
Tapuah
This project will serve unemployed women in Israel, preparing them to enter the work force or to make a career change. Women in the program will learn IT skills using the UP curriculum. They will also develop soft skills needed to enter the work force, such as writing CVs and searching for jobs online. Microsoft Israel is working in partnership with the Employment Service, the authority for the advancement of women in the Prime Minister’s office, and the NGO Tapuha to advance this project. Specifically, funding from Microsoft will pay for technical training, job training, and curriculum in the CTCs.
Kenya
Ugunja Community Resource Centre
This project seeks to enhance the livelihood of community members by improving health standards, business opportunities, agricultural technologies, social networks, employment opportunities, peace building, advocacy activities, and education levels. Through the Centre, new areas of employment will be available to women, empowering the women to handle small-scale businesses with training in bookkeeping. The Centre will make it possible for women's groups to connect, thereby enhancing partnerships, advocacy activities, funding opportunities, product marketing, information sharing, and more. The project will also serve people with disabilities, farmers, small businesses, and teachers. This project will reach out to diverse members of the community through eight CTCs. Funding from Microsoft will be used to support train-the-trainer courses and to provide wages for the youth and master trainers.
Strathmore Educational Trust
This project will provide training in computer skills for youth and entrepreneurs. One CTC is working in Eastland's Centre in partnership with the Informal Sector Business Institute, which offers courses on basic entrepreneurship and computer skills. New CTCs will be created west of Nairobi and at Igoji teacher training college in Embu, to be used by youth during the holidays. The main objective of the project is to provide entrepreneurs with basic computer and entrepreneurial skills. The UP grant will be used for capacity building, a train-the-trainer program, and IT skills training for entrepreneurs.
Kuwait
Empower
Project Empower will establish a CTC where community members will be able to learn technology skills. These skills will enable the CTC’s patrons to find better job opportunities and to access IT resources. In addition to providing training in technology skills, the project will work to improve the social and economic status of women. Project Empower will partner with the Kuwait Economic Society, an NGO whose primary objective is to promote economic growth and reform in the Kuwaiti economy. The project and its partners will support graduates of Project Empower by assisting with job searches and by connecting them with employers.
Lebanon
The Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action
This grant will provide 24 CTCs in Lebanon with software, curriculum, training, and other resources. The program focuses on issues of gender, social development, and poverty alleviation. In disadvantaged and outlying areas of Lebanon, people often have little access to technology. This program will benefit citizens who lack access, as well as women and people in rural areas. With this grant from Microsoft, the program has the goal to strengthen and sustain institutional capacity and to create a policy dialogue on poverty and social development in Lebanon.
Mauritius
SOS Poverty
Using funding from Microsoft, SOS will train trainers in IT. These trainers will in turn train the unemployed and underemployed in basic computer skills. Through this project, 250 master trainers will be trained; they will then reach out to thousands of unemployed youth in Vallee Pitot and in Mauritius in general. Initially the program will have access to one CTC; through a partnership with the British Council, the program will create additional CTCs. The program will receive donated computers through Connect Youth, a massive program implemented throughout Africa.
Morocco
Atelier Sans Frontière—Strengthening Associations for Digital Solidarity
Microsoft, Atelier Sans Frontière, Meditélécom, and the Foundation Mohammed V have partnered on this project to provide PCs, software, curriculum, and training. The project's goal is to strengthen the IT-for-development associations in Morocco. These associations provide IT access for underprivileged people, particularly women and youth. The purpose of this project is to train leaders and provide them with hardware and software so they can share their knowledge with community members.
Strengthening Micro-Entrepreneurs
This project is in partnership with Planet Finance Morocco. Its goal is to enable micro-entrepreneurs to acquire basic computer skills. The project will create a CTC inside Planet Finance's office. This CTC will train micro-entrepreneurs, who will then train others, thus reaching out to the community. The training courses will be highly practical, focusing on the specific needs of each participant.
AjialCom for Employability
This project functions as a partnership with the International Youth Foundation, and its objective is to expand existing CTCs in the AjialCom program. Within this project, a new curriculum will be rolled out that will teach IT skills to enhance employability. The curriculum will be used in seven youth centers run by the Ministry of Youth. The program's past success has inspired this expansion of the program to include more centers and to offer services to more people.
Mozambique
Community Media Centre
Microsoft and UNESCO have established a partnership to support the Centres for Multimedia Communication (CMC). These centers are a combination of telecenters and local community radio stations. The program will help enhance the quality of IT training available, and the Portuguese edition of the UP curriculum will be taught in the program. CMCs in Mozambique are managed by the University of Eduardo Mondlane Centre for Informatics (CIUEM), which has extensive experience working with telecenters and conducting community training.
Nigeria
Information Technology Training Centres for Local Communities
Every village in Nigeria has a community center that is the hub of cultural activities. These centers have the potential to be used as IT training centers where people can learn skills from basic computer operations to advanced programming. During the first phase of this program, train-the-trainer programs will be implemented. These centers will also serve as information centers and shops where information can be shared effectively. The Microsoft UP grant will be used for capacity-building programs for rural areas, for train-the-trainer programs, and to support program development.
Oman
Association of Early Intervention for Children with Special Needs
The objective of this project is to provide basic IT skills training for underserved children and their families. The center provides access to children with special needs, their families, and local community members. Community members will also be able to learn basic IT skills through workshops, training programs, and projects. Microsoft will provide curriculum for the project, as well as funds to train trainers and support connectivity.
Palestine
Empowering Disadvantaged Women with IT Skills
This project will give disadvantaged women in Palestine the opportunity to attend an intensive training course in basic and advanced IT skills, including Web-solutions development, through two CTCs in the Ramallah and Gaza areas. After women take the course, they will be better equipped to start individual home-based businesses in the Web-solutions development field. The grant will cover all the IT skills development programs and a train-the-trainer program.
Senegal
Planet Finance Micro-Enterprise Development
This project will be implemented by Planet Finance. Its goal is to teach efficient training techniques to microfinance practitioners in the different regions of Senegal. These practitioners will then teach young Senegalese micro-entrepreneurs basic microfinance, business, and management skills.
We Are the Future (WAF), Asmara, Kabul, Freetown
Launched in 2004, the WAF program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Global Forum and the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, and includes support from the World Bank and specialized United Nations agencies. Its goal is to mobilize global resources for the benefit of children in conflict and post-conflict cities through the creation of WAF Child Centers. These centers provide youth-led activities focused on five essential areas for rehabilitation: health, nutrition, arts, sports, and ICT.
This project specifically aims to upgrade the capacities of all other sectors to communicate, educate, and organize. It will create a Youth ICT Corps, which will receive training in the use of computers and the Internet. When trained, the Youth ICT Corp members will teach children day-to-day computer activities that will help them build language, logic, math, and other skills. Funding from Microsoft will help provide basic IT skills training for youth and children. Each center will have a dedicated coordinator and youth trainers. A local business plan for each center will be developed to ensure the sustainability and growth of the center activities.
South Africa
Qalabotjha Multi Purpose Community Centre
Qalabotjha is a small rural area in the Free State province of South Africa that has a high rate of unemployment. The Multi Purpose Center houses a CTC and supports small businesses, primarily run by women. Activities at the center currently include dressmaking, candle making, and baking. Bringing technology to the center will enable these micro-enterprises to expand their small-business opportunities; entrepreneurs will also be able to pursue careers in IT. The grant from Microsoft will fund IT skills development programs and train-the-trainer programs in the center.
QuadPara Association of South Africa
QuadPara's function is to serve quadriplegics, paraplegics, and the disabled population by providing training in skills needed for employment. The organization assists people with mobility impairments so they are able to lead independent lives. QuadPara's services range from assistance with personal care and assistive devices to helping patrons develop skills for employment. This grant will further the availability of accessibility in the center and will help demonstrate Microsoft's commitment to making a difference and changing lives. Through the use of Microsoft technology, people with physical disabilities will be able to use assistive devices supported by software.
Digital Village: CTC Sustainability
The objective of this project is to further educate telecenter trainers so that they can become subject-matter experts on Microsoft software applications. This will qualify them as certified Education Training Development Practitioners (ETDP), enabling them to issue certificates that are recognized throughout the country. The UP funding will be used for assessments, training trainers, and project management—the key elements for sustainability of this project.
Digital Village: Governance Framework Implementation
Studies highlight lack of governance at the Digital Villages as a main obstacle to achieving their goals. To address this, workshops will be held to help the community understand the work of the Digital Villages and their roles and responsibilities in the community. These workshops will result in the formation of a steering committee that will act like a board of directors, with full responsibility for appointing a center manager. The committee will set policy to ensure that centers serve the needs of the community. Microsoft funding will be used to help establish the framework that will develop leadership and programming for the centers.
Turkey
Youth Association for Habitat and Local Agenda 21
Building on the first phase of the Empowerment of Youth Through Improved e-Governance project in Turkey, this project aims to strengthen local youth platforms that are established through Turkey's Local Agenda 21 Program (LA-21). The program seeks to create employment opportunities for those who have received IT training. A well-trained IT peer-educator team, established during the first phase of the program, will continue to provide local and regional peer trainings. The goal is to reach 100,000 young people, especially young women, throughout Turkey. Microsoft funding will be used to support train-the-trainer courses at the centers and will cover the salaries and expenses of the youth and the master trainers.
Employment for Disabled
Participants in this program will gain basic and advanced IT skills, including skills in computer basics, Internet and Web design, word processing, presentation fundamentals, spreadsheets, and database programs. Program participants will learn skills that will enable them to work in office environments. These skills will help participants use the Internet, conduct job searches, and access information. Funding from Microsoft will be used for institutional development and for capacity building at the centers to train people with disabilities.
UP Curriculum Localization in Turkish
This project will localize the UP curriculum into Turkish. After the curriculum is localized, it will be used for IT skills training as part of the Empowerment of Youth for the e-Transformation of Turkey project implemented by Youth for Habitat. The localized curriculum is expected to be used by about 300 CTCs across Turkey.
United Arab Emirates
The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority
Microsoft funding for this project will assist in establishing two centers in rural areas. It will also provide training for master trainers in the centers and for unemployed community members. This project will add a second phase to a technology project that was launched in September 2005 in Dubai, establishing two more training centers inside Tanmia.
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