PASSION FOR CHANGE: MICROSOFT MALAYSIA CONTINUES TO EMPOWER NGOs WITH THIRD UNLIMITED POTENTIAL DAY

Microsoft推介第三屆無限潛能計劃

Microsoft drives enhanced ICT skills and knowledge to heighten productivity, efficiency and communication amongst NGOs
(From L-R): Prof Dato' Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin,President, National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) and Pn Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur, March 28, 2008 – Microsoft underlined its commitment to develop the community through providing ICT skills necessary to participate and communicate in the 21st century, especially amongst NGOs, with the successful launch of its third Unlimited Potential (UP) Day.

In line with this year's tagline 'Passion for Change', UP Day 2008 is focused on encouraging a mindset change towards ICT, especially amongst NGOs. This is necessary to dispel the fear of acceptance and usage towards ICT, and encouraging workers to change and embrace its benefits.

Speaking at the launch of UP Day, Prof Dato' Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President, National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) said, "NGOs rely on contributions from the public sector, and these may not necessarily be in the form of cash. What Microsoft is doing is a good example of what a responsible corporate citizen, based on its core competencies, can do to help NGOs achieve better overall performance."

She continued, "By empowering NGOs with ICT knowledge, Microsoft is helping these NGOs by giving them the necessary tools to further their charitable causes and reach out to a larger cross-section of audiences. In an age of increasingly seamless communication and globalization, this is important. Without ICT, these NGOs will be severely disadvantaged in carrying out their tasks and duties."

Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia, added, "We believe in empowering the masses with ICT knowledge and bridging the digital divide in today's fast-paced and information-based society, especially amongst NGOs. After receiving feedback from various participants over the last two UP Days, we have decided to tailor our programs to better meet the targeted needs of NGOs this year, especially in terms of specific skills and enhanced expertise."

Attended by 100 participants representing 30 NGOs including HOPE Worldwide, Shelter, P.S. The Children and CHILD, to name a few, this year's training tracks were designed to cater to beginners as well as intermediate users of Microsoft's products. Educational tracks included modules for Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher. Additionally, a separate session was held for more advanced users - entitled 'Securing your Environment', the session focused on the Internet and PC security as well as online safety.

Training was executed by Iverson Associates Sdn Bhd (http://www.iverson.com.my/about/index.htm) and the curriculum and training modules were the same as those used to train Microsoft's partners, employees and customers. The only difference is the shortened modules, designed to cater to the shorter duration for each session.

"It is important for NGOs to integrate ICT into their processes and workstyle - the heightened level of production, efficiency and the ability to now communicate seamlessly will further their social causes. Being able to harness the benefits of ICT will also empower the NGOs and its workers from both social and economical standpoints," Yasmin continued.

Darick Wong, Program Manager of HOPE Worldwide said, "We have been attending Microsoft's UP Day since the first one three years ago and, we learn something new every time! Microsoft in particular and ICT, in general, has definitely contributed positively to our operations - we are able to do more, while shortening the time-span needed to complete tasks. ICT has also enabled us to reach out to more people, share and gather information more seamlessly."

Huzaini Bt Abdullah, Women's Services Centre Coordinator, Islamic Women Welfare Board in Terengganu agreed, "Yes, the tracks are very relevant and unlock otherwise unknown potentials which we can now use. ICT has allowed us and our workers to concentrate more on strategy and management instead of being bogged down by operational tasks. We can now spend more time focusing on our social causes because ICT has not only helped lighten our workload, it has also made us more accessible to a larger audience beyond traditional physical and geographical boundaries."

In addition to the training tracks, moderated roundtable sessions, designed to provide NGOs with an avenue to network based on their social causes, were also held. Divided into teams based on respective social causes, this allowed similarly-inclined NGOs to voice common ICT-related issues, share best practices on issues management and also to gather feedback for next year's UP Day.

To track the efficiency and effectiveness of the training tracks, participants were given an activity towards the end of the day. This involved a particular problem, which had to be tackled using different Microsoft Office applications, depending on which track the participants attended earlier in the day.

Microsoft also launched its Malaysian Unlimited Potential Community Training Skills program (UP-CTSP), website (http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/giving) during UP Day 2008. The website is designed to be a one-stop information centre for Microsoft's community initiatives.

"We are reaching out to as many people as we can. Like you, we are also harnessing the unlimited potential of ICT to communicate our causes to a much wider audience," Yasmin explained.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to FTEC's generosity, which agreed to provide us with all the necessary hardware we need for today," Yasmin concluded.

FTEC, one of the leading home-grown brands in the local ICT arena, provided 10 notebook computers which were used throughout the day, including the six training sessions, the 'Activity' and also at the 'internet centers' during coffee and meal breaks.

Also announced at the launch was the soon-to-be available Microsoft Charity Open Licensing initiative. As a compliment to Microsoft's UP-CTSP program, the licensing initiative aims to further enable NGOs to realize their potential by allowing eligible NGOs to acquire multiple software licenses at reduced prices.

UP Day is part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential initiative that promotes digital literacy in Malaysia. These digital inclusion efforts are achieved through three critical components, namely the Unlimited Potential Grants, Community Software Donations and Unlimited Potential Curricula.

In line with Microsoft Malaysia's current UP grant focus, which is to aid underserved women in ICT, two qualifying NGOs - the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and the National Council of Women's Organization (NCWO) (who are third-year repeat grantees) have received cash grants and software donations totalling close to half a million Ringgit.