Bill Gates’ Regional Tour: the Inside Track
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to make a series of announcements during tour of Europe and Middle East.
MUNICH, Germany — 6 Nov 2006 — Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates is visiting Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Belgium from Monday, 6 November to Thursday, 9 November, where he will make a series of announcements in addition to engaging with customers, partners and government elites. The visits to each country will address a number of key topics, including the importance of IT skills in relation to employability, how technology and innovation can help countries compete in the global economy and how Microsoft can contribute to local technological innovation and economic growth.
In addition, Gates will be meeting with students and academics, business and political leaders, and heads of state to discuss ideas of innovation, IT growth, and global competition. He’ll also be giving keynote speeches at events including Microsoft’s Convergence EMEA event in Germany, the Microsoft Business Forum in Russia, the first Global Competitiveness Forum in Saudi Arabia, and the Microsoft Innovation Day in Belgium.
To aid journalists interested in learning about news announcements made during the visits, an overview of the Gates trip will be highlighted here on the Microsoft EMEA Press Centre. This story will be updated daily to incorporate an overview of each day’s news as well as to provide links to the local PR contacts, who will be able to provide more details on the specific events. Additionally, there are links to news on the Convergence EMEA and Innovation Day events which Gates will be attending this week.
Please check back throughout the week for additional details.
BRUSSELS, Belgium — 9 Nov 2006 — Bill Gates closes the trip to Europe with a day in Belgium. His first speech of the day is at The Way Ahead: MSR’s 2020 Science Roadmap Conference. Here, Gates will address an audience of European dignitaries and prominent scientists, discussing research and innovation over the next 10 years in Europe and how innovative technology can help transform society through advances in healthcare, education, science and engineering.
A meeting between Gates and members of the European Parliament and non-profit organisation the European Internet Foundation will follow this conference. Discussions will centre on the role of innovative technology and research and development in Europe.
In the afternoon, Gates will participate in the Innovation Day taking place at the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre. Gates will join members of the European Commission and European Parliament in viewing cutting-edge technology research projects from Microsoft Research labs and Microsoft Development Centres. Gates will then deliver a keynote outlining the future of innovation and its importance for education, health and economic development. In addition, Gates will launch the Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) Programme, offering computer science students internships in IT companies. Please go to this website for more information on Innovation Day: www.euinnovationday.com
Gates will wrap-up the day and the trip with a preview launch of Windows Vista and Office System 2007 at the Belgian Business Value event, attended by customers, partners, Business, IT professionals and business decision makers from both public and private sectors.
Contact Aurelie Couvreur and Dirk Delmartino for more information.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — 8 Nov 2006 — On Wednesday morning in Saudi Arabia, Bill Gates will meet with top business people in the kingdom to share experiences on how Microsoft has helped companies worldwide increase productivity and collaboration, speed up decision-making processes and reduce cost.
He will meet with government ministers to share Microsoft’s vision on e-government and the positive impact it can have on the Saudi Arabian economy and citizens. In addition, Gates will sign strategic agreements with key public and private organisations designed to assist the country in its goal to become among the top ten globally competitive investment destinations by 2010. Gates will then deliver a keynote speech at the first Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh, where he’ll share Microsoft’s vision for the digital economy in Saudi Arabia.
Gates will also participate in a joint press conference with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), where Gates will shed light on the agreements signed and reiterate Microsoft’s commitment to Saudi Arabia and to the further growth and development of the IT industry in the kingdom.
Contact Waleed Assal for more information.
MOSCOW, Russia — 7 Nov 2006 — In Russia, Gates will attend two Innovation Seminars in the morning, one for a government audience and the second for an audience of scientists and academics. The seminars will focus on discussion of how technology and innovation can enable economic growth in Russia and examine some of Microsoft’s research and development efforts in the Europe and Middle East regions.
In the afternoon, Gates will keynote at the Microsoft Business Forum. With approximately 1200 participants, this is the largest annual Microsoft business-orientated event in Russia. The event brings together Microsoft customers, partners and industry experts to share ideas around IT technologies with a focus on Microsoft solutions. Gates will also participate in the Russian launch of the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista for business customers.
Contact Eugene Danilov for more information.
MUNICH, Germany — 6 Nov 2006 — In Germany, Bill Gates will give three addresses beginning with the keynote speech at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt on the theme of ‘Skills for Employability’ to an audience of CEOs and CIOs. During this Forum, Gates will launch a new Microsoft “IT Fitness Initiative” to help improve technology access and IT skills in Germany.
In the afternoon he will address students at Munich University and will end the day by giving the opening keynote speech at Microsoft’s Convergence EMEA event. A live webcast of Gates’ keynote address is available here. Convergence EMEA is Microsoft’s largest EMEA business-oriented event. bringing Microsoft Dynamics customers, partners, employees, and industry experts together to share ideas and knowledge. More press information regarding Convergence is available here.
Contact Thomas Mickeleit for more information.
Please check back throughout the week for additional details.
