UN development agency and Microsoft join forces to provide technology training

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Microsoft Corporation today launched a new initiative to provide technology training in community education centres across the developing world.

UNDP's Administrator Mark Malloch Brown and Microsoft's Chairman, Bill Gates, made the announcement at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The agreement is aimed at helping developing countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of time-specific targets agreed to by the world's leaders that include halving extreme poverty by 2015.

Under the agreement, UNDP and Microsoft will identify opportunities to work together on programmes using UNDP's development experience and Microsoft's technology products and skills.

They are already collaborating on a pilot project to provide technology skills and access at 16 centres across Afghanistan, with the aim of building a skilled pool of information technology professionals in the country. Other projects have been identified in Egypt, Morocco and Mozambique.

"We know that information technology, used in the right way, can be harnessed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals," said Mr. Malloch Brown. "We look forward to exploring opportunities with Microsoft to see how technology can be made to deliver on its promise in development."

Mr. Gates said "technology is a powerful tool that can help transform lives, economies and societies."

Microsoft has also agreed to help UNDP with its Southern Africa Capacity Initiative, providing computer technology to help poor countries in the region deliver better social services to people affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.