Microsoft Latin America 2014 Corporate Citizenship...

Microsoft Latin America 2014Corporate Citizenship Report

Microsoft Latin America 2014 Corporate Citizenship Report

“Our efforts in Latin America are centered in providing opportunities for the biggest demographic group in the region, those who are key for the future of our societies: youth.Our Corporate Citizenship team works every day in every country of the region with the commitment of creating opportunities through technology for youth, to enable them to access jobs, entrepreneurship and education. This year, for example, through strong public-private alliances, more than two million young people took their first steps to learn to how to code. We continue, as well, our partnership with the Ibero-American Youth Organization (OIJ, in Spanish) and several Secretaries of Youth, establishing partnerships, and offering our Corporate Citizenship programs to promote the development and foster the growth of the communities and countries of the region.

A great partner we have had throughout these years has been the Trust for the Americas, an organization from the OAS. Together we train young people, especially young women, in vulnerable conditions in the POETA YouthSpark centers, in 21 countries of the region.

The nonprofits we work with have benefitted of our cloud services through the donation of Office 365, and have been empowered through trainings in the use of technology, supporting them to fulfill their mission.

We know our work is important, but we also know that there is still much more to be done. We will continue investing to provide greater opportunities for young people to be the spark of change.”

Hernan Rincon President Microsoft Latin America

Microsoft.com/latam/responsabilidadsocial

http://Microsoft.com/latam/responsabilidadsocial


Microsoft Latin America 2014 Corporate Citizenship Report3

In order to create a real impact where needs are pressing, we focus our work on the communities and we partner strategically with nonprofits, international organizations, and public and private entities, allowing us to create opportunities for youth to enable employment, entrepreneurship and education, as well as empower nonprofits to fulfill their mission.

Real Impact for a better Latin America

Youth in the region, as it was expressed in a 2015 report of the International Labor Organization (ILO), are living and facing a challenging reality. According to the Ibero-American Youth Organization (OIJ, in Spanish) in 2015 there are around 149 million youth between the ages of 15 and 29 in this region, of which 13% are unemployed.1

Almost 27 million youth in Latin America work in the informal economy, currently, six out of ten new available jobs are informal.2

According to UNESCO 50% of young people don’t finish high school.31 “Invest to transform”, Ibero-American Youth Organization. http://bit.ly/11QXZM5

2 Data from ILO (International Labour Organization, Formalizing Youth Informality. 2015 Report) http://bit.ly/1KVSQVw

3 Unesco. Teaching and learning: Achieve quality for all. http://bit.ly/1ezHeDG

In Latin America, our work is centered in two fundamental pillars: Working Responsibly and Serving Communities.


http://www.Microsoft.com/latam/responsabilidadsocial


Microsoft Latin America 2014 Corporate Citizenship Report4

Microsoft YouthSpark and Technology for Good

Supported

5,054 Nonprofit organizations.

Donate more than

US $400 million in software and cash.

Benefited more than

59 million youths.

Our strategic Corporate Citizenship programs have enabled us to:



Microsoft YouthSpark


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Throughout the region, our team has worked hand in hand with local, mu-nicipal and state governments to cre-ate agreements on how Microsoft can support their youth plans and goals.

Building public-private partnerships

An important partnership was signed with the Ibero-American Youth Organization (OIJ, in Spanish), which we renewed this year, to create a regional work plan. Microsoft collaborated with the Post 2015 Youth Agenda with a series of recommendations, summarized here:

Include access to technology and training during elementary school. Providing free Wi-Fi, devices, and basic computer training to students and teachers in all public elementary schools, with training to ensure online security and privacy.

Require a computer coding subject for one semester in the eighth grade curriculum (between 13 and 14 years of age), to inspire their interest in computer science as a career, generating interest in STEM courses (science, technology, engineering or math) and create a platform for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Require one business administration subject in their last year of high school, with the purpose of providing training for entrepreneurship and encouraging students’ personal goal to own their business.

Extend the previous policies to students in community centers, technical training schools or public vocational centers where opportunities for professional internships will be promoted.

The recommendations were presented at the International Youth Summit held in Veracruz, Mexico, mid-2014, and created opportunities to discuss, panels and debates about the agenda and their goals for empowering youth.




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Authorities responsible of youth priorities in Latin America, parliamentarians and civil society leaders gathered In Mexico to participate in the International Meeting for Youth and Post 2015 Agenda, where OIJ and Microsoft presented the report on “Youth, Employment and Technology in Latin America”.

The work with countries of our region regarding youth policies also included agreements with the IMJUVE (Mexican Institute of Youth), Municipality of Zapopan and Nacional Montepiedad in Mexico; and in Argentina with the Provinces of San Luis and Salta and the Beltran Institute, all according to our YouthSpark program.

We also welcomed a new partner in the region this year, all within our efforts to continue expanding YouthSpark’s scope. In Chile, commemorating International Youth Day, we celebrated last August 14, an agreement with the Institute of Youth (INJUV, in Spanish) to offer business development, education and employment programs for youth in the country

Angela Camacho, our former Regional Legal Counsel for Microsoft Latin America, Alejo Ramirez, Secretary General of OIJ and Dr. Jose Manuel Romero Coello, Director of the IMJUVE- Mexican Institute of Youth.

Our commitment with the OIJ (Ibero-American Youth Organization) and the Secretaries of Youth from Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Spain, continued with the invitation to participate in an EBC (Executive Briefing Center) at our global headquarters in Redmond, located in the state of Washington, U.S.A. During the meeting held in November, specific actions were discussed for the youth they serve, including trainings, coding, support for youth centers, seeking to achieve greater job opportunities and entrepreneurship for youth in their countries.





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Empowering youth, building a future

In support of one of the recommendations to the Post 2015 Youth Agenda #YoPuedoProgramar (I Can Code) is born: an initiative that addresses coding literacy for youth to learn how to write code – the foundation of every program and creation in technology. The goal is that code classes can become an important part in science and math courses and a fundamental part in promoting creativity and innovation.

Through this initiative, we partnered and had the support of more than 50 partners in countries throughout the region including governments, nonprofit organizations, companies, renowned show and sport celebrities, local leaders, as well as community organizations. All of them teamed up and more than 2 million youth responded to the calling – a sign of the interest young people have

Our main goal in the region is to provide opportunities for youth to access the knowledge, experience, resources, and places to explore their potential.

Coding ideas.

in learning about innovative subjects. The initiative reached other social actors, as well as students, to awaken the general interest in learning about this subject.

In Brazil, 200 young people participated in the coding week, in Colombia there were events in public libraries attended by hundreds of young ones, giving a new meaning to the social space idea. In Ecuador, there was massive attendance at the event with the Municipality of Quito. In Mexico, 300 open spaces were created for one-hour courses, while in Argentina, together with universities and the Boca Foundation, youth was invited to learn how to code. In Chile and Peru, with the support of the Ministry of Education, coding events where held in 6 cities in these countries.

To finalize the campaign youth presented the ideas which they could achieve after they had learned how to code. In Puerto Rico, a young girl won the top prize in the challenge “Code your Place” in the 12-18 year-old category. In Colombia, there were two winners, one in the 19-25 year-old category and another one in the Community category. All winners received a computer equipped with Windows and Office so they can continue developing their ideas.

At www.YoPuedoProgramar.com we continue learning how to code!





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YouthSpark Live in Colombia DigiGirlz in Dominican Republic

For youth, face-to-face opportunities are a transforming experience, and this inspired the execution of the YouthSpark Live event in Colombia. During an intense journey in the month of May, we joined efforts with Colombia Joven (the name given to the Secretary of Youth in the country) and the nonprofit organization, Conexion Colombia, to bring 90 young people to Microsoft’s headquarters in the country, where they received all the necessary tools to build their life plans.

They had the opportunity to access training resources, as well, and they were guided to learn about the skills they need to develop for employment, entrepreneurship or to continue their education. They experienced DreamSpark, which offers free access to design and development tools so students and teachers promoting knowledge of technical skills, and BizSpark, which provides Microsoft software for technology entrepreneurs, and connects young ones with industries and investors to generate new businesses. Lastly, they learned about Imagine Cup, a contest that challenges students to take advantage of their knowledge and passion in the development of solutions that may positively impact people’s lives in their communities.

YouthSpark Live DigiGirlzWhen focused in creating employment opportunities, digital inclusion and learning about technology, actions for young women are fundamental. That is why we developed the Microsoft DigiGirlz program, created within the YouthSpark framework, to help girls in high school to know more about the technology industry and the professional possibilities that await them. The program provides as well, opportunities to participate in interactive workshops and technology seminars.

Young women can also have the experience of meeting women who have built successful careers in the field, and are a source of inspiration. For this reason, in Dominican Republic and as part of the program, we joined forces with one woman who is technology leader in the country, Claudia Rita Abreu— IT director of the Ministry of Education in the country— to hold an event through which we invited 200 girls, representing 5 cities and 20 local schools, to ignite in them the spark of knowledge and open doors to consider a future in technology.





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Juan Manuel Godoy, General Manager of Microsoft Paraguay signing the alliance.

Supporting university studentsWithin our education strategy and as part of the team’s actions, our work in the region also includes agreements with universities to better promote employment opportunities. An example of this is the agreement with the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training in

Trinidad and Tobago to promote greater participation of youth in programs that prepare them to be successful in the job market. Through this collaboration, the number of internships expanded and stipends offered by the program increased 5%.

Another important agreement established in the region is the help to 3,000 students in Paraguay thanks to the collaboration between our local subsidiary and the Paraguayan Association of Private Universities (APUP, in Spanish). Through this alliance, greater opportunities for education, communication and entrepreneurship are guaranteed for students, supported with technology and training tools in a 3-year project. A second important partnership in this country is the collaboration with the Polytechnic School of the National East University, which provides students and the school access to training, software, and the expansion of our innovation programs, DreamSpark and ImagineLab for the students at the institution.





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POETA YouthSpark Network

POETA YouthSpark centers empower young people to create opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, or continue their education.

POETA YouthSpark is a partnership with “The Trust for the Americas” aiming to create opportunities for young people from 16 to 29 years of age.

The impact:

21 POETA YouthSpark centers in the regionArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic.

Creating job opportunities, focused on reaching 80% of young women.

Benefited 21,596

Trained 6,400

Continue their education777

Working 1,937

Enterprises 543





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In Argentina, we joined efforts with two new regional partners to help more young people in their training and expand their opportunities in that country: University of La Rioja and University of Buenos Aires; two educational institutions with a large number of students who are looking to improve the present and dream about their future, and who with this partnership will access an innovative educational environment.

Meanwhile, efforts in Brazil created an agreement in Campos do Jordão that will benefit 7,000 public school students by training their teachers, coordinators and students in advanced technology.

Further commitments

Chile celebrated the opening of the Imagine Business Lab, which, with the support of US $10 million from Microsoft, will provide resources to create 1,000 digital companies over the next 5 years. These companies will receive help to accelerate their development in this first public-private partnership joining entrepreneurs, teachers and experts.

Young people today face an opportunity divide: a gap between those who have the access, the skills and opportunities to be successful and those who do not. Bridging this opportunity divide is one of the most important actions we can all take to ensure the future of our young ones and the future of our global economy.

Through Microsoft Youthspark, we want to empower youth to change their world. You can review all our program actions here: www.youthsparklatam.com

In Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to signing an agreement with the Ministry of Education, we celebrated the opening of the first Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in the English-speaking Caribbean. The MIC opened in October, and it provides free access for the development of applications, robotics and animation projects, among others.



Technology for Good



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This year we expanded the scope of Office 365 for nonprofit organizations to more countries in Latin America. This program offers free access to our cloud services enabling nonprofit organizations to access Office tools anytime, anywhere. With this product, more than 11,500 organizations around the world have managed to connect with more than 1.5 million employees and volunteers, to be able to closer collaborate, even when they are in different geographies. Since the beginning of the Office 365 donation program in our region, 23 countries and 403 organizations have had access to this program for nonprofits.

Your Cause, Our Cause

Our NGO Days are events we organize to expand the collaboration between community organizations who serve youth, to help them share experiences and discover the best ways to adopt technology

More than 5,000 nonprofit organizations in Latin America participate in our software donation program, benefited by $418 million dollars in software and cash donations.

Argentina BermudaBoliviaBrazilChile

ColombiaCosta Rica Dominican RepublicEcuador

El Salvador GuatemalaHonduras

JamaicaMexico

Nicaragua Panama

ParaguayPeru

Puerto RicoTrinidad and

Tobago Uruguay

VenezuelaUS Virgin Islands

Office 365 for NGO is extended to:

solutions for their daily work. During 2014, we celebrated 33 NGO Days in the region, including events that attracted more than 2,900 participants representing nonprofits.

These events are organized together with local organizations and are an important occasion to deepen collaboration opportunities offering free access to workshops and conversations.

Our company’s social mission is something that fills us with pride. This is why we celebrated when the Forbes magazine selected Microsoft Mexico as one of the most charitable companies of the country. We were selected from 38 renowned participating entities, recognized for our efforts of helping more than 9 million people in the country.





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When we organized the NGO Day in Peru, the Ministry of Youth joined us in an event that gathered 100 participants. We also celebrated events in Dominican Republic together with Alianza ONG; and in Ecuador, two events in Quito and Guayaquil inspired a collaboration with the Ministry of Labor to improve the access of opportunities to their youth.

Technology for Good continues meeting its objectives because it involves strategic local partners, but essentially, because it involves communities, to face the most pressing social challenges together, with innovative, accessible and efficient, technological solutions.

Our work also addresses unique matters for each country. For this reason, in Brazil we partnered with the Neymar Jr. Institute (INJR) to provide access to technology — software, Xbox and IT content—that will benefit more than 2,500 youth and 7,500 members of the community where the soccer star grew up.

Likewise, in Jamaica, we partnered with Junior Achievement to bring 73 participants to sessions focused on improving education, access and quality of education.





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YouthSpark’s mission is ambitious—opening the way to enable youth to develop their full potential. This can only be achieved through the collaboration, partnership, and above all, commitment.

The experiences youth create reminds us of the importance of this work, as they prove that each resource dedicated to provide them with opportunities creates chances for success.

YouthSpark Heroes

Here are their stories:

The future of Magaly is sweet because her entrepreneurship, the chocolate factory “Chocolatería Canelita” is growing. When she started to make chocolates at age 19, this young entrepreneur saw the opportunity to build on her artisanal chocolate skills and develop a business. Her dedication and motivation were key to learning everything she needed to know about marshmallows, and when she arrived to the POETA Youth center in Peru because a friend invited her, she discovered tools that helped her to professionalize her entrepreneurship. There, she had access to programs that even still today allow her to perform marketing, record her sales and tax collections in Excel and look for ways to professionally present her products to get more clients. All of this in a short time because this YouthSpark star is only 21 years old.

Magaly





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In Chiapas, Mexico, there are more than 1 million indigenous people. Many young ones migrate to look for opportunities. Nevertheless, Alfredo was able to take advantage of his experience earning a living from sowing in this agricultural town. When he found out about Mision Bajachon, a cooperative operated by the School of Coffee, he learned everything there was to know about growing, harvesting and selling the beans. Also, for the first time, he was challenged to use a computer to report the collection and sales, and use it for the Coffee business. “I thought the computer would bite me,” Alfredo remembers, but in time, he learned to look for information and use all the technological tools that help him in his daily work and allow him to get the most out of the operation.

Alfredo

Born in the middle of the world, in Ecuador, Henry discovered his passion for technology when he moved to Argentina in 2008, and he discovered that his studies in gastronomy didn’t satisfy his intellectual appetite. He immediately changed careers and wanted to accelerate his knowledge while he studied his degree in computer systems. This way, he found Microsoft’s ally IT Community—one of the nonprofit organizations which specializes in providing access to programming training. Once empowered with education and knowledge acquired at IT Community, he was able to enter the job market and decided that now it is his turn to help other young ones. He continues working with the organization, while he finishes his studies and prepares for a future as Mr. NET and open his own business.

Henry





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His childhood in the favelas of Brazil predicted a future with little possibilities, even more when he had a couple of setbacks that led him to a juvenile detention center. But Wanderson learned how to take advantage from adversity and found opportunities to succeed. During his stay, he learned about the CDI organization—a leading organization in democratizing access to technology in Brazil. After taking several IT courses, Wanderson realized he could help other young ones in his community and he combined courses in social education with his technology training to promote digital inclusion and teach others, himself being an instructor of the CDI.

Wanderson

In Trujillo, Peru, there are few opportunities for young ones like Mariel Villanueva. When she finished studying high school, she started to sell chocolates to get money to go to university and help her parents. There her first entrepreneurship was born; Gema’s Catering, which offered chocolates to students, teachers and university workers. In her last year, Mariel discovered the scholarship “Emprende Ahora”, which gave her the opportunity to acquire the knowledge to create a business plan, benefiting her productivity. When her participation finished, Mariel dominated the process of developing a business plan and had the idea of what her next entrepreneurship would be: Snails. Now, her business is preparing to offer her best dishes and desserts.

Mariel





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Each one of these stories inspires us to continue our work, just as Wanderson would say “with fire in our eyes”, understanding that our efforts are helping young people reach their dreams, for themselves, their families and their communities.

Javier Blanco is a 28-year-old Mexican young man who was born in the Mayan tropical forest, in the indigenous town of Noh-Bec, whose inhabitants work on the sustainable production of wood. Javier left his town to study Accounting in Mexico City, and when he graduated, he decided to come back and accept the proposal to become the accountant for the production of wood in his community. Javier accepted the challenge, and little by little, his ideas started to transform the place. The most difficult challenge was to convince other workers they needed to modernize their systems. He taught them the importance of technology and together with other partners, he designed a project and presented it to the Business Foundation in Mexico (FUNDEMEX) and it resulted in the creation of a Technology Training Center, providing rural community inhabitants the opportunity of acquiring different information technology skills.

Javier

When Francisco Anaya turned two, his parents discovered he had a sickness affecting his sight and that he would need special tools and education for life. But nothing stops Francisco. According to the doctors, his condition would prevent him from riding tricycles, running or playing other sports. But he did that and more. Francisco is now a systems engineer, thanks to the use of adaptive software technology for visual accessibility, which allowed him to learn and use Microsoft programs and achieve the role he plays today in an important company, Microsoft´s partner in Peru.

Francisco



Thank you“Be the spark of change” www.youthsparklatam.com

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