Realising Potential in Europe, the Middle East and …download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/d/d3db3118-dc6d-4a08...Realising Potential in Europe, the Middle East and Africa CENTRAL AND

Realising Potential in Europe, the Middle East and Africa

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“ I n t h e e i g h t e e n m o n t h sI h a v e w o r k e d h e r e a t

R a n d a l l C l o s e t h em o s t p l e a s u r e

h a s b e e n w a t c h i n gp e o p l e b l o s s o m a s

t h e y h a v e l e a r n t n e w s k i l l s .T h a n k y o u .”

P a u l C l i s s o l dRe m e m b e r i n g J o y

A Leonard Cheshire publicationFor more information, please contact [email protected]

Supported by Microsoft

Xpress-BROCHURE-BAT-27-09 3/10/05 13:53 Page 1

At Microsoft we see every day the powerful role that technology plays in

enabling people, businesses and entire nations to realise their full potential.

This is what inspires us, both in our business and in our social investments.

Our commitment is strong and simple – to help put information technology to

work for people’s dreams and to fuel the future.

It’s what drives our firm commitment to partnerships with governments, local

communities and local ICT industries to support economic growth, job creation,

innovation and social inclusion. We believe that public-private partnerships are

essential to address many of the big challenges and opportunities of our time:

to build a sustainable and vibrant information society for all; to create break-

throughs in science and technology; to combat poverty and exclusion, parti-

cularly in education and access to technology and skills; and to enhance job

creation, entrepreneurship and employability through skills training.

Today in EMEA we are working in partnership with thousands of independent

software businesses, with national and local governments, the education and

research communities in many countries, and with local and international

NGOs and humanitarian agencies.

In this publication you will find examples of these partnerships, from our work

with the Slovak Customs Directorate and the governments of Yemen and

Namibia, to our support of ICT access for young people in inner-city London

and in schools across Africa.

These partnerships are inspiring and deeply enriching experiences for

Microsoft and our employees. And they provide our partners in business and

the community with access to the tools and support they need to achieve

their goals.

My personal commitment, and that of Microsoft, is to continue working

through such partnerships to help ensure that the real potential of technology

to be a force for economic and social progress is fully realised and open to all.

Jean-Philippe CourtoisPresident, Microsoft International

“Our commitment is strong and simple – to help put information technology

to work for people’s dreams and to fuel the future.”

Jean-Philippe Courtois – President, Microsoft International

3


Par tnerships in EMEA■ western europe 6■ centra l and eastern europe 12■ middle east 18■ afr ica 24■ innovat ion in EMEA 30

facts & f igures 34par tners & photography 35

Realising Potential in Europe, theMiddle East and Africa

Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) encompasses more than 60 local offices anddelivers products and services in more than 139 countries across the region. In this publicationyou will find just a few examples of our many partnerships: enabling people, organisations andbusinesses throughout the region to realise their full potential.

5


western

In Lisbon, March 2000, the EU Heads of States and Governments

agreed to make the EU “the most competitive and

dynamic knowledge-driven economy by 2010.” Information and

communications technology (ICT) is already the most productive

sector of the European economy, but the Lisbon Agenda set goals

for increased investment in R&D, a reduction in red tape to

promote entrepreneurship and an employment rate of 70 per cent.

Some progress has been made on fostering innovation in

Europe's economy, but there is growing concern that the ambitious

goals will not be achieved. Europe invests only €80 in ICT research

per head as compared to €400 in the US. Its population is rapidly

ageing: by 2050 there will be 173 million people aged 65 and

over, and this exacerbates the problem of long-term structural

unemployment. We are working with partners across Europe to

invest in R&D, education and life long learning: creating empowering

new technologies that will help close the gap between the

information society ‘haves and have nots.’

“Microsof t has set a h igh standard in how the voluntary sector can work with

the corporate sector. Enable I re land has benef i ted in more ways than one

f rom this par tnership , in terms of bestpract ice and high standards , which carry

over into maintain ing the re lat ionshipthrough shared exper t i se .”

Kate Raymond, Manager of Dubl in Adult Serv ices , Enable I re land

6 7

SpainPor tugal

UK europe


9

“Pupils are using their time more

efficiently both in and out of school.

They are learning more and are

much more capable of working

by themselves than other

children of their age.”

Jose Antonio Blesa, Head Teacher, Ariño Primary School

In remote rural areas, pupils can’t always access the resources available to

children in large towns and cities. This leaves schools in these regions to

seek innovative solutions to provide their pupils with an educational head

start. Located in a village in northeast Spain with a population of just 900,

Ariño Primary School is one of the first to benefit from an agreement

between Microsoft and the regional government of Aragon. The partners

are setting up a series of projects that promote ICT-aided teaching in

schools, transform the teaching style, the role of the teacher and the way in

which children learn.

The school has been supplied with portable Tablet PCs for use in class. The

children use the Internet to research subjects and follow interactive lessons

at their own pace. They find the lessons exciting and are more motivated to

learn. And it has transformed the role of teachers. Instead of instructing

from the front of the class, they can coach and direct individuals and small

groups of children.

Using wireless technology, pupils study online after school, work with

friends and send questions to their teachers. This means that the normal

school day can be set aside for social activities, discussions, sports and arts

where teacher-led, group learning is more appropriate.

The project has been so successful that the Ministry of Education in Aragon has

decided to provide 14,000 Tablet PCs for schools over the next three years.

And six other regional governments are introducing Tablet PCs and wireless

networks into their local schools.

8

Ariño School Tablet PCs ICT transforms teaching in rural schoolsSpain


KarrotInternet bus provides online access

in the inner city

The London borough of Southwark’s population is young and deprivation

levels are the twelfth highest in England and Wales. The Karrot Project

was developed with the involvement of young people to increase school

attendance and reduce youth crime by addressing their key concerns: lack of

local activities, boredom and a lack of recognition.

Led by The Metropolitan Police Service in partnership with the local

Council, Karrot provides an Internet Bus which tours the borough providing

technology, software and trained staff ‘on the doorstep’. Microsoft support

for the project, which includes providing training, tools and staff volunteers,

will allow the bus to travel around Southwark youth clubs, estates and parks

at the weekend in addition to its current weekday activity. Helping it reach

an additional 4,000 young people per year.

The bus is equipped with 10 high-end PCs and the latest Microsoft software.

Volunteers give interactive lessons using a smartboard and digital projector.

And the bus is also a mobile recording studio holding regular music tutorials.

As well as offering a web cafe, Karrot will soon provide a more educationally

based, structured programme to support the UK’s national teaching

curriculum.

Another part of the programme involves a mentoring scheme organised in

partnership with Karrot and the Youth Education Support Services (YESS), a

local community school. Under the scheme, students come into MSN’s

London offices every week, where they are matched with a Microsoft

employee. Together they work through school projects, prepare for exams

or talk about career plans. Both the students and their mentors tell us that

this pilot programme has been very successful. Now that its rollout is fully

underway we are matching more students with the new volunteers.

UKUniversity of Trás-os-Montes and Alto DouroLaying the foundations of an information society

in a remote corner of EuropePortugal

“ Informat ion technology i s one of

the univers i ty's key areas of

research and teaching so we

thought let 's use th is knowledge

to help the local community.”

Arsénio Reis , Technical Director of

the Univers i ty's Center of Informat ics

In a remote corner of Europe, technology has connected local people with

the suppliers of vital government services such as medicine, education, road

maintenance and water.

Known as “the corner of the corner of Europe,” Trás-os-Montes is a relatively

poor and isolated agricultural area in the mountainous northeast of Portugal.

Many of its brightest young people have emigrated to urban areas or have left

the country to make a better living. Local government provides the people

with vital services, but the only way to access these services is through 84

small one-stop shops run by the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto

Douro from offices scattered across the region.

Technology can have a dramatic effect on the delivery of government

services and the university decided to use its expertise in ICT to bring government

closer to the people. Building on Microsoft technology they developed and

launched a web portal (www.tras-os-montes.net) to direct citizen requests

and queries to the relevant government service provider.

Now local people have a fast and simple way to access public services. They

can make a doctor’s appointment, obtain a social security certificate, arrange

a water connection or pay a bill. And the system caters for all citizens. Those

with limited knowledge or access to the Internet use the one-stop shops.

Those with Internet access use the portal.

The portal is a great way for emigrants to keep a connection with their

home region. In its first year of operation, more than 200 non-residents

registered to access portal services. And practically any organisation can

plug into the portal. Plans are afoot to open it up to private sector service

providers, water suppliers, private hospitals and medical laboratories:

electronically linking the people of Trás-os-Montes with the outside world.

“My f i r s t day at MSN

was a great exper ience .

My mentor made me fee l that

I was in charge and ta lked to me

about my ideas . They have real ly bui l t

up my conf idence . We have ta lked about

bus iness p lans and i t has made me

real i se that I can go out there and

set up my own bus iness and

that I wi l l be successfu l .”

Bayo, 19 , YESS student

10

central and eastern europe

In the past two decades, Central and Eastern Europe has

undergone a profound economic and social transition starting

with the fall of the Berlin Wall and culminating in the accession of

eight countries from the region to the European Union in May

2004. Whilst most countries have now put in place the basic

institutional frameworks for open market-based democracies,

and growth and investment are robust, they still face considerable

challenges to modernise the infrastructure, skills and business

methods that are vital to compete in the global economy.

Improving public sector efficiency, investment in workforce

skills and promoting the integration of vulnerable groups in

the labour market are all critical for sustained economic

growth and prosperity across the region and raising living

standards for everyone.

“ This i s a unique and impor tant in i t iat ive . As one of the wor ld ’s f i r s t community learning

centres for refugees , i t i s a def in ing moment onthe road to a t ru ly inc lus ive informat ion soc iety,

and in our f ive-year par tnership with Microsof t . Working with

committed , pass ionate and innovat ive peoplefrom the bus iness community i s

enabl ing UNHCR to real ly so lve problems and provide modern, last ing so lut ions .”

Dennis B la i r, UNHCR Deputy Representat ive

in the Russ ian Federat ion

12 13

Bulgar iaHungar ySlovakia


15

“[The project i s ] of nat ional

impor tance in making

informat ion technology access ib le

for v isual ly impaired people .

I t provides both a chance

to improve their profess ional

qual i f icat ions and to be more

integrated in soc iety.”

Zeynep Saraeva, Director, Foundat ion Hor izont i

14

Foundation HorizontiPromoting inclusion and accessibility in Europe’s

Information SocietyBulgaria

In Bulgaria today, more than 18,000 people are permanently blind and unable

to work, while a further 40,000 have vision impairments that prevent their

easy mobility. The European Union’s i2010 strategy aims to make Europe's

Information Society as inclusive and accessible as possible. And this is a key

objective for Bulgaria as it enters the EU in 2007.

As part of an effort to meet that objective, the Bulgarian Association of

Computer Linguistics has developed Speech Lab, a Bulgarian language

text-to-speech synthesiser designed to work with Microsoft software. And to

ensure that this innovative technology reaches those who need it most,

partners Foundation Horizonti, the Bulgarian Union of the Blind and

Microsoft Bulgaria have made Speech Lab freely available throughout the

country.

The partners have also launched a community technology learning centre

equipped with eight workstations installed with Microsoft Windows XP and

Office. Through access to the latest business and productivity applications, as

well as to curriculum content that focuses on technology and computer

literacy skills, the centre is able to provide training tailored both to employment

and business skills and to real-life situations encountered by the visually impaired.

Both these projects are supported through Microsoft’s Citizenship

programme, Unlimited Potential, which supports community ICT skills

training to promote digital inclusion, employability and entrepreneurship

skills for under-served groups.

Two months after the start of the project in November 2004, it received the

Investor in Human Capital award from the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum.


17

“With the European S ingle Market ,

t raders can more or less se lect to impor t

and expor t goods through any

European Union country,

so of course they wi l l choose those

countr ies whose customs agencies

provide the best serv ice .

The S IOUX system helps the

S lovak Customs Directorate

be a l i t t le more compet i t ive .”

Zuzana Durajova, Director of Informat ics ,

S lovak Customs Directorate

Hungarian Public Employment ServiceEmployment Portal links jobseekers to opportunities Hungary

Slovak Customs DirectorateSIOUX online customs duty payment system

speeds up import-export business Slovakia

16

A lack of electronic communication at the Customs Directorate meant that

Slovak import-export traders found themselves at a disadvantage when

paying duties. Traditionally paid in cash or by bank transfer, duty payments

attracted handling risks and transactional delays. This placed financial burdens

on traders and often left their goods sitting at the border for many days.

When the Customs Directorate decided to automate and simplify its

paper-based procedures, it seemed sensible to start with the payment of

customs duties. The requirement was for an online duty payment system.

Robust and reliable, this business–critical application had to be available at

all times. In response, local ICT services company, Ditec, based its solution

on Microsoft technology, offering maximum interoperability with the

back-office systems of the country’s banks and traders.

Known as “SIOUX”, the solution allows customs declarations to be submitted

electronically. Duty is paid directly from the bank as soon as it has been

calculated. An electronic guarantee of payment, signed by digital signature

and encrypted with a public key of the Slovak Customs Directorate is sent

by the bank confirming that duty has been paid. So even if it takes several

days to process payment, Customs can release declared goods immediately.

As a result of SIOUX’s implementation, border waits have been reduced

from as long as several days to just seven minutes, helping the country’s

traders to compete more effectively in the European Union and support

local economic growth.

“[The Por ta l ] i s of ten more

convenient for people because

they are more comfor table looking

for jobs on their own.

Rather than have a s taf f member

hold the informat ion and suggest

di f ferent employment poss ib i l i t ies ,

jobseekers can look at the

informat ion themselves and

get a l l the pr ivacy they need.”

Tamas Szanto , Deputy Director General for the IT Div is ion ,

Central Employment Of f ice

The Hungarian economy has enjoyed solid growth in recent years, a rapidly

expanding job market and increased employment. A growing number of

industries and companies are now facing staff shortages and often there are

not enough people in the job market to satisfy the growing demand.

The Hungarian Public Employment Service’s (PES) 20 county offices,

174 local job centres, nine re-training centres and headquarters have

traditionally operated independently. When Hungary joined the EU in 2004,

funding was made available to re-design and integrate PES’s entire ICT

infrastructure. The new Employment Portal (www.afsz.hu) is a key element.

It is based on software developed using Microsoft technology by Sense/Net,

a local, Budapest-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. It provides

the 4,500 Employment Service staff with easy access to integrated business

applications and job listings from the 174 job centres. And the country’s

10 million citizens have access to the Portal to conduct job searches, freeing

up staff time for counselling and re-training.

Companies use the Portal to publicise job offers nationwide, extending the

depth and breadth of their recruitment efforts. The Portal connects to the

European Employment Services network, which provides jobseekers with

information on working and living conditions, job offers and recruitment

opportunities in other countries. And different language versions are being

developed to attract foreign workers to fill key vacancies.


m i d d l e

The Middle East is an economically diverse region that includes

both the oil-rich economies in the Gulf and countries that are

resource-scarce. The biggest economic and social challenges

facing the region are youth unemployment, which ranges from

less than five per cent to around 30 per cent, and a strongly

growing labour force: the region will need to create about four

million jobs a year to accommodate new entrants into the job

market. We are working with governments, NGOs and others in

the region to explore fresh and innovative ideas that will remove

barriers to work and help governments take advantage of the

global knowledge economy. Together we are investing in ICT to

streamline government services and building high-quality systems of

education that will empower youth, women and the unemployed

with the skills and knowledge they need to realise their potential.

18 19

EgyptJordanYemen east

“Clear ly the benef ic iar ies of th is par tnershipwi l l be not only the s tudents , but a lso

the companies that go on to employ them, and the Bahraini economy.”

His Exce l lency Dr Maj id Al Nuaimi , Minister for Educat ion, K ingdom of Bahrain


21

"In government we work with

the major IT vendors –

Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM –

but by far the fastest response

to our needs comes every time from

Microsoft. We chose to work

with Microsoft based on

response time and flexibility,

as well as the quality of its

technology."

Dr. Ahmed Darwish, Minister of State

for Administrative Development

The Egyptian government offers more than 700 services such as driving

licence renewals, birth certificates, and utility bill payments to citizens,

businesses, expatriate residents, and investors. But this can mean queuing

for hours during the working day at government offices.

President Hosni Mubarak has set tough targets for most government services

to be online by June 30, 2007. His vision provides for a long-needed

transformation in information management to revolutionise services for

businesses and citizens. So the government sought to provide a one-stop

shop for government services: a bilingual Arabic-English Portal that would

let citizens, foreigners, businesses, and investors browse recent government

announcements, search for information on services and access them online.

And it must seamlessly integrate with the ministries’ back-office systems.

Microsoft and local partners Raya Software, OMS and LINKdotNET, a

Cairo-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, responded with the Bawaba

Portal (www.egypt.gov.eg). Bawaba is expected to save ministries up to

900,000 working hours a year, time that is currently wasted in red-tape and

paper-based systems. The service is already getting 250,000 – 300,000 hits

a week. And the average number of visits to government offices to obtain

a service has been reduced to 1.5 from 3.5.

Among the services already online are applications to replace national

identity cards, requests for birth certificates, tourist complaints and taxation

and customs forms. And the first e-payments service has been implemented

on the site by Telecom Egypt so that its customers can pay their phone bills

via the Internet.

BawabaPortal provides user-friendly one-stop shop

for government services in EgyptEgypt

20


23

The Republic of Yemen, one of the most rural of the Gulf states, has

5 million school children and 120,000 teachers who, in 2003, had no access

to computers. Following on a government programme to bring computers

into schools, Microsoft partnered with the Ministry of Education (MoE)

to help it develop a national ICT plan. The partners’ first priority was to

train teachers in ICT skills and provide them with technical assistance. Their

short-term goal was to train the teachers in schools that had recently received

computer hardware.

Within six months of launching the initiative, five Microsoft IT Academies for

Teacher Training (ITATTs) had been established at teacher training centres.

The ITATTs train teachers to train others in the use of ICT in the classroom.

And they provide curricula in ICT basics. Twenty MoE staff volunteers

took part in a comprehensive 10 week course. The course prepared the

participants for accreditation in the ‘International Computer Driving

License’ (ICDL). ICDL is an internationally recognised ICT skills certification

developed and maintained by the European Computer Driving License

Foundation. It also provided them with the vital ‘soft’ skills – presentation

and teaching skills – needed to pass on their knowledge to others.

Having completed their training in December 2004, the 20 MoE ‘master

trainers’ began running courses for school teachers early in 2005. The next

activity in Yemen is to train two officials at each ITATT, and eventually at

each school, in technical support and troubleshooting: building long-term

capacity at the local level to service the technology needs of the schools.

“We know what we want to achieve ,

but we don’ t a lways know how to

get there . Microsof t i s fac i l i tat ing

the process of ICT educat ion

and tra in ing for our teachers

and students .”

His Exce l lency Abdul Salaam Al-Jouf i ,Minister of Educat ion

School Technology Innovation Centres and e-VillageProviding lifelong learning opportunities for Jordanian citizensJordan

“ Through these col laborat ions with

Microsof t we are able to achieve

wider progress on our v is ion of

bui ld ing a knowledge economy.

In d i f ferent ways , both the School

Technology Innovat ion Centre and

the e-Vi l lage wi l l provide l i fe long

learning oppor tunit ies for Jordanian

ci t izens and provide them with

the serv ices and tools to become

contr ibut ing members of

the ICT economy.”

Dr. Khaled Toukan, Minister of Educat ion

Yemen Ministry of EducationYemen moves ahead in ICT teacher training Yemen

Jordan has a population of five million: a figure expected to double by 2025.

Almost a third are aged 15–29 and in recent years, the government has

actively promoted ICT development to take advantage of its young, educated

workforce. However, economic slowdown has left almost half of women

graduates unemployed.

The opening of the Regional School Technology Innovation Centre in

February 2005 marked significant progress for the Jordan e-Village

Initiative, a collaborative project between the United Nations Development

Fund for Women, the government of Jordan and Microsoft. It will provide

ICT opportunities in rural areas, ensure equal opportunities for both women

and children and build a sustainable ICT model for education in Jordan.

And it is hoped that the e-Village concept will prove a valuable educational

model for other governments across the Arab world.

Another education programme, Jordan’s Education Initiative (JEI), implemented

in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Menhaj Educational

Technologies in Amman, and Microsoft, is leading the development of a

world-class ICT National Curriculum. It will provide 520 lesson plans in

Arabic, containing multimedia elements in every lesson for teaching IT skills

in grades 1 to 10 in schools throughout the region.

Public-private partnerships such as the JEI and facilities such as the School

Technology Innovation Centres are part of Microsoft's broad effort to

increase access to technology and technology skills in schools and communities

throughout the Middle East.

22


a f r i c a

Across Africa local communities and governments are grappling

with complex challenges caused by extreme poverty and lack of

access to health care, education, technology and economic

opportunity. Despite these obstacles, the 1990s saw many success

stories: Senegal and Uganda have begun to contain the spread of

AIDS/HIV and Equatorial Guinea has succeeded in reducing rates

of child mortality by more than 20 per cent. But only ten countries

are on track to meeting the United Nations’ Millennium

Development Goals (which identify the most urgent needs of the

developing world), underlining the need for urgent and concerted

partnerships to address key development priorities. At Microsoft

we are committed to playing our part in Africa's development by

forming partnerships to build the local knowledge economy:

enabling ICT access and skills development and the creation of

localised content for African communities, teachers, students,

governments and businesses.

“UNESCO is p leased to par tner and col laboratewith Microsof t and the Youth Observatory to

suppor t the establ i shment of the InfoYouth Centre for the youth of Nor th Afr ican countr ies .

Together we are provid ing the tools , technologiesand sk i l l s required by the cr i t ica l learners

and th inkers of the future in our increas inglyconnected cyber wor ld .”

Mr Abdul Waheed Khan, Ass is tant Director General of theCommunicat ion and Informat ion Sector at UNESCO

NamibiaMorocco

Pan-Afr ica

24 25


2726

“We are now starting to use

refurbished computers from

Digital Pipeline in our schools,

as we feel that including refurbs

into our model will reduce the cost

of implementing ICT in schools,

allowing the Ministry

to do more with less.”

Johan van Wyck, Deputy Director, Information Technology, Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture

African Pathfinder and Digital PipelineEmpowering communities through access

to learning and technology Namibia

Education has always been a focal point for enabling economic and social

development in Africa. Achieving universal primary education is one of the

United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals, which identify the

most urgent needs of the developing world. In rural Africa, however, schools

often have only the most basic tools for teaching, and the digital age seems

distant indeed.

African Pathfinder seeks to bridge that divide. Two years ago, the Namibian

government and Microsoft launched the initiative to help bring computer

technology and teaching curricula to schools around the country.

Pathfinder provided pilot schools with computer systems running

Microsoft’s Learning Suite, supplying each school with a digital library and

access to digital content. In addition it offered teacher training, technical

support and advice. And it will enable 10,000 surplus computers from

developed countries to be professionally refurbished at the Digital Pipeline

Centre in Windhoek, Namibia, for use in schools and community centres.

Designed to be sustainable and scalable, the programme is capable of

running in thousands of schools across the country.

The surest mark of success came in June 2005, when Microsoft’s direct

participation in the initiative came to a close, and the Namibian government

took control of the programme.

Parts of the Pathfinder initiative will now be rolled out in other countries.

In Kenya, Microsoft is working with the government and other partners to

create a computer refurbishment centre. And teacher-training materials

created under Pathfinder are now being used in Angola, Ghana and

Uganda.


AjialComMaisons de Jeunes provide ICT access

and learning for the community MoroccoMntandao Afrika Linking 17 countries

in an Internet adventure Pan-Africa

Mntandao Afrika is an annual pan-African technology competition for

youth aged 12–19 who design and develop multilingual educational

websites for use by students across the world. For the past two years it

has been run by pan-African NGO, SchoolNet Africa, and supported by

Microsoft in a partnership to improve digital inclusion and support the

indigenous knowledge economy.

Mntandao Afrika promotes a new style of learning. It shifts the emphasis

from classroom to pupil-centred learning in which the students take the

initiative and the teachers act as coach and facilitator.

1,000 young Africans and their teachers entered last year’s competition.

They worked in culturally diverse, virtual teams spread across the continent.

Each learned the ICT skills necessary to build websites covering issues in the

arts and literature, science and mathematics, social sciences, sports and

health. And in doing so they struck up new friendships outside their immediate

communities.

In September 2004, 150 of the top-achieving students from 11 African

countries gathered in Cairo, Egypt, alongside members of the Egyptian

government, UNDP, UNESCO, and key in-country NGOs to celebrate their

achievements.

The competition’s phenomenal success proves that when students have

access to computers and the Internet, they can successfully plan and develop

study programmes, undertake research and learn new skills including

leadership, timekeeping, management and marketing. Skills that will be crucial

in preparing them to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s competitive cyber

economy.

“Mntandao Afr ika i s an innovat ive

programme which encourages Afr ican

chi ldren and their teachers to develop

their IT sk i l l s and par t ic ipate fu l ly in

the g lobal onl ine environment .

We are del ighted to ce lebrate their

achievements and par t icular ly proud that

this year 40 per cent of entrants were

women. With suppor t f rom Microsof t

we hope to expand th is programme over

the next three years to l ink 10,000

Afr ican youths and their teachers in an

Internet adventure .”

Shaf ika Isaacs , Execut ive Director SchoolNet Afr ica

28

Morocco, like many other countries in the region, faces the

formidable long-term challenge of preparing its economy for

freer trade with the EU. With a literacy rate of just over 50 per

cent and an unemployment rate approaching 20 per cent, the

government is focusing on improving education, particularly in

vital skills such as computer literacy, in order to boost living

standards and job prospects for Morocco's youth.

In January 2004, Microsoft and the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) opened the first of 10

community technology learning centres as part of the

AjialCom initiative. Located in ‘Maisons de Jeunes’, or ‘youth

homes’, the programme provides dedicated venues, equipment,

teaching and training resources with Internet connectivity for

all members of the community.

The centres offer skills training and technical resources to students,

entrepreneurs, and adult men and women. In the longer term, the centres

will become self-sustaining micro-enterprises able to play an economic and

social role in their local environment.

The success of the project is due in part to the close working relationship

between the partners. Morocco’s Secretary of State for Youth provided the

physical space and furnishings and identified managers to run them.

The UNDP and its ICT programme for the African Region (ICTDAR) provided

teacher training and finance for the ICT equipment. And Microsoft North

Africa provided educational software, training for the managers and financing

for hardware and installation.

“[Our] aim is to promote digital

inclusion by providing technology

access and IT skills development to

empower under-served communities

and help in creating new job

opportunities. The programme offers

a very practical and modern solution

to bridging that gap.”

Najat Rochdi, ICTDAR Regional Coordinator


II nnovat ion in EMEA

key research bodies across Europe. And we invest in pure and

applied research and development. Our R&D-related facilities

in the region support 1,000 staff — in Denmark, Germany,

Ireland and the UK — and cover the key stages of software

development, from the earliest concept to product implementation.

We also have a range of other partnerships with universities and

local governments across EMEA.

Some of these investments are yielding benefits today with

software breakthroughs in critical areas such as security and

reliability. Others will transform the way we use computers years

from now. But they all stem from our optimism about the future

of computing and our commitment to push the state of the art

forward.

At Microsoft we are inspired by technology’s unique ability to help people,

governments and businesses realise their potential. It’s what motivates us

to keep reaching for the possible in all areas of our business.

Across the EMEA region, we demonstrate our commitment to innovation

through collaborative programmes such as the European Science Initiative,

which aims to accelerate fundamental innovation in science and computing

through the pursuit of novel avenues of research by Microsoft and

“An open and col laborat ive approach ex is ts at the hear t of the research

we’re conduct ing with Microsof t Research.Developing th is laboratory in France wi l l fue l

the exchange of new ideas and suppor t the achievement of our shared goals

whi le adher ing to the leve ls of sc ient i f ic exce l lence INRIA is renowned for.”

Gi l les Kahn, Chairman and Managing Director, INRIA , The French Nat ional Inst i tute for Research

in Computer Sc ience and Control

30 31

Pan-RegionalNor way

UK


33

Innovation in EMEA

In EMEA, 1,000 Microsoftemployees work in research anddevelopment.

The company operates numerous facilities in the region dedicated to technology innovation and software development:

Microsoft Research Centreswhose mandate is to develop new technologies through long-term “blue sky” research as well as applied, product-focused research – Germany, UK

Microsoft Development Centreswhere Microsoft products are developedand enhanced – Denmark, Ireland, Serbia

Microsoft Institutesresearch centres of excellence thatMicrosoft has established in collaboration with leading research andacademic bodies – France, Italy

Microsoft Innovation Centreswhere the company works with industrypartners and governments to shareexpertise and speed time to deployment,and time to market – Denmark, Egypt,Lebanon, Spain

Microsoft Technology Centreswhere enterprise customers can test theirapplications and obtain support andadvice from Microsoft engineers –France, Germany, UAE, UK

Pan-Regional – Students vie for the Imagine Cup

Drawing nearly 17,000 young contenders from more than 90 countries, the

Imagine Cup is a Microsoft-sponsored competition designed to demonstrate

the opportunities that technology makes possible. Microsoft provides

resources, exposure and technical support to students as they develop their

entries, which must incorporate Microsoft products.

Team OmniMusic took home the title of Imagine Cup 2005 World

Champions. The team of four Russian students demonstrated how their

technology unites musicians across geographical and cultural boundaries

by performing live onstage with one team member in a remote location.

OmniMusic enables musicians to join a community, meet musicians of

similar skills and interests, perform live in a distributed environment,

and broadcast the performance via IP multicasting. The team received a

standing ovation at the finals in Yokohama, Japan.

When asked about his experiences at the Imagine Cup, winning team

member Nikolay Surin said, “The most exciting, really inspired project that

dissolves boundaries between all cultures is the Imagine Cup itself.”

32

Norway – The magic of software

“I am practically 100 per cent paralysed, I cannot breathe, talk or eat – and

I am feeling fine.” So said Dr. Julius Moskvil when he met Bill Gates after

they both had been on stage during Microsoft’s IT Forum in Copenhagen,

November 2004.

A physician by profession, Dr. Moskvil was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s

disease in 1999. Within a matter of months he had to give up his practice

and became progressively more dependent on assistance. Today he enjoys

life with his family thanks to Rolltalk, assistive technology developed by

Norwegian independent software vendor IGEL.

Rolltalk runs on the Windows XP platform. It controls everything from doors

to the stereo, from an electronic page turner which helps him to read

to an electric toy car that he uses to play with his grandchildren. Most

importantly, Rolltalk enables Dr. Moskvil to communicate through a function

that translates text to speech. Microsoft invests considerable resources into

supporting partners like IGEL, which built Rolltalk on the Microsoft

Windows XP platform.

After meeting Dr. Moskvil, Bill Gates stated that, “Rolltalk is about as good

an illustration of the magic of software as I have ever seen.”

UK – Applying machine learning to games

Thore Graepal, a researcher at MSR Cambridge, works alongside video games

companies in the UK such as Rare and Bizarre, applying machine-learning

techniques to make games more interesting, and creating characters that are

“a bit more human.”

The research conducted by Thore and his colleagues translates into

technologies that may soon be used by millions of people worldwide.

“The new idea is to make computers that try things out and learn,” he said.

“For years, computers have been able to look far ahead and outperform

human players in games such as chess. But they have not been able to learn

from experience as we do. We are trying to create games with artificial

intelligence: games that make human-like mistakes.”


People, Operations and Facilities

Microsoft beginnings in EMEA: Microsoft UK was established in 1982, the first office outside the US, followed by Microsoft France and Microsoft Germany in 1983. Subsidiaries: More than 60 offices and subsidiaries operate in 56 countries. Employees: More than 12,000 people work for the organisation, representing seven business groups. Regional coverage: Microsoft EMEA offers services and products in 139 countries and territories. Manufacturing, distribution and logistics: Supported by the European Operations Centre (EOC), manufacturing operationswere set up in Sandyford, County Dublin, Ireland, in 1986. Product localisation: Microsoft Office is available in 40 languages spoken in the EMEA region, and Microsoft Windows is available in 37 regional languages. At the European Product Development Centre (EPDC) in Dublin, Ireland, Microsoft developers and linguists specialise in 50 languages and dialects to create local-language products.

Connecting With Customers and Building Partnerships

Mission: Enabling people and organisations throughout EMEA to realise their full potential.Customer and partner ecosystem: Microsoft partners in EMEA include 200,000 resellers and 37,000 independent software vendors (ISVs). Among these are: - 13,000 Microsoft-certified partners, including service partners (e.g., systems integrators), ISVs, learning solution

partners, etc.; - 3,800 Microsoft Business Solutions partners; - 82,000 software developers registered with the Microsoft Developer Network, This ecosystem serves over 20 million small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers in EMEA. Public sector: Microsoft EMEA partners with local, national and regional governments and administrative bodies to help achieve public service objectives, ranging from e-government and e-democracy to digital communities. www.microsoft.com/emea/governmentEducation: Through the Partners in Learning programme, Microsoft EMEA collaborates with schools and universities to enable better integration of technology into the curriculum. To date, more than 400 Partners in Learning agreements have been signed with academic institutions in 63 countries in the region. www.microsoft.com/emea/educationNon-governmental organisations and charities: Through the Unlimited Potential (UP) programmes, Microsoft EMEA partners with organisations to improve lifelong learning for disadvantaged youth and adults through community-based technology and learning centres. Unlimited Potential supports 136 projects in EMEA with over 130 partners in 45 countries across the region. Over the next five years, Microsoft will commit up to US$ 1 billion to Unlimited Potentialpartnerships worldwide. www.microsoft.com/emea/citizenship

Participating in Business and Industry Dialogue

Mission: Responsible leadership through industry partnership and dialogue. Industry association membership and participation: Business Software Alliance (BSA), CompTIA, CSR Europe, the European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Association (EICTA), eLIG, European Policy Centre (EPC), EU Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce, Initiative for Software Choice, International Communications Round Table (ICRT), and the World Economic Forum’s Global Digital Divide Initiative Taskforce (GDDI). For a complete list of the organisations in which Microsoft participates in the region, please consult: www.microsoft.com/emea/associations

Partners

Partners featured in RealisingPotential in Europe, the Middle East & Africa

Western europeRegional Government of Aragon,SpainTrás-os-Montes University, PortugalMetropolitan Police and theLondon Borough of Southwark, UK

Centra l and eastern europeFoundation Horizonti, the BulgarianUnion of the Blind, BulgariaPublic Employment Service,HungarySlovak Customs Directorate,Slovakia

Middle east Egyptian GovernmentUnited Nations DevelopmentFund for Women Jordanian Government Yemeni Government

Afr icaNamibian GovernmentUnited Nations DevelopmentProgrammeSchoolnet Africa

Photographers

Carmen ArisaAlain BeauvaisEvgeni DimitrovTom IngvardsenPaul MclaudMuhammed Salah

Photography

Western europeMain photo shows children at AriñoPrimary School in Spain. Photosshow (from left to right): childrenfrom Ariño Primary School in Spain;participant of Enable Ireland scheme; children studying at AriñoPrimary School, Spain; and beneficiaries of the University of Trás-os-Montes portal programme, Portugal.SpainPhotos show children at AriñoPrimary School and the surrounding rural area.PortugalPhoto shows Trás-os-Montes community members accessingICT services. UKPhoto shows participants of theMSN-supported Karrot InternetBus project.

Centra l and easterneuropeMain photo shows beneficiaries ofCherish Our ChildrenInternational/Deva Svelta programme in Belgrade, Serbia.Photos (from left to right) show:Participant of Fondation Horizontiin Bulgaria; participant at theInstitute of Public Administrationand European Integration,Bulgaria; a young beneficiary of a Cherish Our ChildrenInternational/Deva Svelta programme in Serbia.BulgariaPhotos show participants of a Foundation Horizonti programme.HungaryPhoto shows ICT access forjobseekers.SlovakiaPhoto shows ICT access for filingcustoms declarations.

Middle eastMain photo shows children who benefited from a Microsoft-supported ICT training programme.All other photos show children from the Middle East region whoparticipated in a variety ofMicrosoft-supported schemes.EgyptPhotos show citizens of Egypt.JordanPhoto shows Jordanian citizens atthe Regional School TechnologyInnovation Centre.YemenPhoto shows beneficiaries of aMicrosoft-supported ICT teachertraining programme.

Afr icaMain photo shows attendees atAfrican Pathfinder ceremony inNamibia. Photos (from left to right) show beneficiaries of ICTaccess programmes for Africanschool children.NamibiaPhoto shows Namibian children performing at the opening ceremony of African Pathfinder.MorrocoPhoto shows a young beneficiaryof the AjialCom initiative.Pan-AfricaPhoto shows the official openingof a Microsoft-supported ICT learning centre.

Innovat ion in EMEAPhotos feature the MicrosoftResearch Centre, UK, Microsoft Development Centre,Denmark, and Dr. Moskvil with Bill Gates in Norway.

This publication was produced by the Microsoft EMEA corporate communications team.

34 35

facts & figures partners & photography


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