Microsoft and U.S. Government Agencies Announce Initiative To Promote International DevelopmentCollaboration through Public-Private Partnership Will Explore Opportunities to Work Together Across Cultures and Continents. Washington, DC – Oct. 22, 2007 – Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) today announced a unique public-private collaboration that intends to promote international development in the areas of economic growth, health, governance, education and humanitarian assistance around the world. The five-year public-private partnership aims to catalyze the global community to address the diverse social and business challenges faced by those who currently receive few or no benefits from technology. Building on decades of business experience, research and development, and corporate citizenship efforts, Microsoft will strengthen its ongoing commitment, known as Unlimited Potential, to helping those underserved by technology overcome the barriers to social and economic empowerment. By seeking to share respective strengths, experience, and resources (including human, in-kind, and financial support) Microsoft, USAID, PEPFAR, and MCC, will support achievement of the following core development objectives:
This expanded initiative is an outgrowth of numerous successful joint global projects between Microsoft and USAID that have taken place over the last five years in areas such as education, digital literacy training and economic development. “Microsoft believes in enabling new innovative avenues of social and economic empowerment,” said Gerri Elliott, corporate vice president of the Worldwide Public Sector organization at Microsoft. “This collaboration with USAID, PEPFAR and MCC — all leaders in solving issues faced in the developing world — is strategically aligned with Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential goal of applying the benefits of technology toward the health and well-being of people around the world.” “In this age of increasing interconnectedness, this global collaboration with Microsoft will help to mobilize ideas and resources, skills and technologies to spur innovation and deliver results far more efficiently and effectively than ever before,” said Henrietta Fore, acting administrator of USAID. The first project for collaboration under this global Memorandum of Understanding will be an alliance between Microsoft, USAID and Indonesia Entrepreneurship And Agribusiness Development Activity (or SENADA) -- a USAID-sponsored competitiveness project, The alliance partners will sponsor iMULAI, a national business innovation competition and awards program. This competition will promote the spirit and importance of innovation to business entrepreneurs and the general public in Indonesia. The competition also seeks to grow Indonesia’s global IT competitiveness. “This groundbreaking public-private partnership will help PEPFAR leverage the tools of the information age and the core competencies of Microsoft to bring HIV/AIDS collaboration to the next level,” said Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator of PEPFAR. “Our joint collaboration with Microsoft, USAID, and PEPFAR will provide new avenues for MCC assistance to create the conditions that will unleash private sector investment, support job creation with technology, and be an incentive for policy reform,” said MCC CEO Ambassador John Danilovich. About USAID About PEPFAR About MCC About Microsoft For more information about Microsoft Unlimited Potential: http://www.microsoft.com/unlimitedpotential For more information, press only:
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