Tags: children, Microsoft, non-profit
Microsoft Latin America announced today that NGO Connection, a new online resource dedicated to the thousands of non-profits in the Spanish-speaking world, is now available in Spanish. Through this portal, the company hopes to help Latin American organizations by delivering a tool that will allow them to more efficiently use technology to reach their objectives, promote networking and improve the coordination of their resources around the world.
“Through the creation of NGO Connection, Microsoft places at the disposal of the Latin American NGOs a resource that allows access to software, opportunities for relationships with other institutions that will help push common projects, expand the reach of their initiatives and broaden the impact of the community activities,” said Rodolfo Fucher, Community Affairs Manager for Microsoft Latin America.
The main objective of this new Web tool is to provide a place where NGOs can find technical resources, share knowledge, create communities and examples of real-life cases. Through simple, non-technical terminology, NGO Connection tries to provide NGOs with wider access to Microsoft’s resources and offers directed toward these institutions, as well as helping them utilize other online resources in an effective way.
Non-governmental entities, such as the Programa Amigo de los Niños, which is affiliated with Children International in the Dominican Republic, express their satisfaction with the implementation of this type of virtual tool, which will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good organizational practices to be shared among the NGOs that support the neediest of people.
Rafael Mejía, Children International director in the Dominican Republic, pointed out the importance of this type of technical resource and congratulated the social work that Microsoft has been carrying out in the Dominican Republic. “An example of this is the installation of a computer center in the Mendoza community center, from which thousands of sponsored youth have the opportunity to close the poverty gap that could prevent them from developing integrally and be placed within the competitive Dominican job market.”
NGO Connection also allows NGOs to easily share best practices and success stories, and gives them the option of joining a forum where they can participate in discussions regarding the utilization of this technology and sharing solutions to some of their most difficult challenges. Another significant aspect is that NGO Connection also offers complete and easy access to free software downloads and other Microsoft tools – such as SteadyState, a tool designed to improve computer administration in the classrooms and TV centers – as well as course content, curricula and resources. The goal is to help NGOs establish a bridge between their needs and the way in which technology can meet these needs.
Additional information on NGO Connection is available at www.microsoft.com/NGO.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the world leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses develop their potential.
About the Programa Amigo de los Niños, Inc., affiliated with Children International
It is a sponsorship operating agency that has worked in the Dominican Republic since 1979. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., Children International works in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Zambia, the United States and the Dominican Republic. The sponsorship program helps meet the needs of children, youth and their families through educational, health and community programs, and aims to have these children and youth become healthy, educated and independent adults.”