Some of the most influential policymakers in Europe have gathered today in Lisbon to consider ways that information and communication technologies (ICT) can enhance employment opportunities and drive economic growth in the face of global competition. Among them are José Sócrates, prime minister of Portugal; José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission; and more than 300 delegates representing governments, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses region-wide.
These government and business leaders are attending Microsoft’s Government Leaders Forum (GLF) Europe 2006, a conference focusing on how the private sector can work with local, regional and central governments in support of good governance, socio-economic development, healthcare and education. The theme of this year’s European conference is “Driving Global Competitiveness Through Local Innovation”.
“Every year we hear from government officials that this forum sparks new ideas and partnerships for addressing socio-economic issues,” says Gerri Elliott, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for public sector. “Increasingly we see that collaboration between the public sector and private companies can fuel positive change in a way that neither could do alone. Add the power of information technology to the mix, and we can set our sights very high.”
The agenda for the conference includes a discussion of the European Commission’s mid-term report, “Working Together for Growth and Jobs”, which proposes a series of reforms and steps to focus on delivering stronger, lasting growth and creating more and better jobs. In addition, GLF attendees will examine how ICT can be applied to the formulation of successful strategies in the following four areas:
- Building a stronger knowledge economy through research investment and turning innovations into growth and jobs
- Enabling digital learning
- Enhancing workforce skills for employability
- Delivering e-government services to citizens and consumers
In conjunction with the event, Microsoft made two announcements today that demonstrate the company’s longstanding commitment to achieving these objectives. Tomorrow, Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect, is scheduled to make additional announcements as part of his keynote at the event.
Increasing Employment and Social Inclusion Through ICT
In his keynote speech this morning, Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, announced three new initiatives related to ICT skills development.
First, a group of companies including Microsoft, Cisco Systems Inc, State Street Corp and others have formed the European Alliance on Skills for Employability, pledging over €60 million in cash and kind to provide people with technology access, training and certification required by employers. Over five years, the alliance aims to help 20 million people in the EU improve their job prospects through ICT skills, with an emphasis on empowering young unemployed people, older workers and people with disabilities. This effort supports the EU’s Jobs and Growth Partnership and facilitates the provision of skills training for employability to disadvantaged groups.
Second, Courtois announced the expansion of Microsoft’s IT Academy programme. Microsoft, in collaboration with academia, will increase the number of IT Academies from 1900 to 8000 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the next five years. An IT Academy is an authorised IT centre for training, often managed by nonprofit organisations at community colleges.
Third, Microsoft launched a new Digital Literacy curriculum that supplements the Microsoft curriculum currently used in community centres across Europe. With e-learning and online personal assessments across five modules, the Digital Literacy curriculum provides foundation-level training and will stimulate interest in higher level professional qualifications. The Digital Literacy curriculum will be made available free of charge to governments, academia and other NGO organisations.
“In today’s job market, ICT literacy is becoming a mandatory skill,” Courtois says. “What is so powerful about the programmes we’re announcing today is that literally millions of people will be able to learn these skills and enhance their lives as a result of effective, directed public-private collaboration.”
All of Microsoft’s education-focused programmes, including those announced today, fit into the company’s 21st Century Skills for Employability initiative, a framework that aligns the numerous educational and digital-inclusion programmes supported by Microsoft as a learning continuum. The result is that individuals at all stages of life are better able to access free or low-cost ICT training that often leads to better employment and social inclusion.
Economic Growth and Competitiveness Through Innovation
In addition to the new investments Microsoft is making in support of ICT education, the company also announced it is expanding its IP Ventures programme. This gives small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to licence Microsoft inventions that have untapped market potential.
In addition to the new investments Microsoft is making in support of ICT education, the company also announced it is expanding its IP Ventures programme. This gives small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to licence Microsoft inventions that have untapped market potential.
Publicly launched in May 2005, IP Ventures provides a mechanism for selected Microsoft technologies, most of which have been developed in Microsoft Research labs around the world, to have a life outside of the company. Today’s announcement features new technologies available to licence and new relationships with European partners, including Enterprise Ireland and the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra). Both are government-funded agencies that provide grants, investment, business counselling and office space to start-up companies.
“By working with groups that receive government funding for the purpose of spurring economic development, like Sitra and Enterprise Ireland, Microsoft is helping European companies to gain a foothold in the global IT industry,” says Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel in Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs division. “IP Ventures is designed to help SMEs build businesses around innovative technologies.”
Smith also announced an agreement with Softedge-Systems Ltd, a Dublin-based company and the first European software company to licence Microsoft technology through the IP Ventures programme. SoftEdge will use Microsoft photo-editing technology, developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge, making it very easy for a user to extract a person or object from a digital image and use it elsewhere.
