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Supporting Relief Efforts in Haiti
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Posted by Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director, Global Community Affairs
The earthquake in Haiti is an absolute tragedy.
I clearly remember the precise moment when the Tsunami struck Indonesia in 2004 and how that set in motion a chain of events that would hopefully allow us to be better prepared to respond to such tragedies in the future.
We have learned from the Tsunami, and from subsequent tragedies including Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the Sichuan earthquake in China. Since 2004, Microsoft has been supporting NetHope, a membership organization of some of the world’s largest humanitarian relief organizations, which focuses on ensuring that these organizations are prepared to react quickly and effectively to work together during an emergency. Technology is playing a key role in mobilizing support for the victims of the Haiti earthquake and also in coordinating relief efforts. PC World reports that Twitter, Facebook and Skype are all being utilized to get the word out around the world and tell the story of the tragedy that is unfolding locally.
Microsoft is making an initial commitment of $1.25 million, which includes cash and in-kind contributions. Other support efforts include:
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A Childhood for Every Child
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Posted by Ernie Allen
President & CEO, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
For most of us, the word “childhood” conjures up thoughts of innocence and security. But for thousands of children, it is shrouded by darkness and pain, because of the vilest kind of sexual abuse and exploitation. And when that abuse is recorded and shared online among pedophiles as child pornography, the abuse continues indefinitely; each time images of a child’s abuse are viewed and passed on, that child is victimized again.
We can help these children and prevent others from suffering their fate. Technology is a critical part of the solution, and that is why I’m proud to announce that Microsoft is donating to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) an important technology, called PhotoDNA, to help power the fight against online child pornography. PhotoDNA was created by Microsoft Research and helps to calculate the distinct characteristics of a digital image in order to match it to other copies of that same image.
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Changing the World and the Changing Role of Business
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Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President
Pamela Passman
With the launch of Windows 7 last week, Microsoft also launched a contest, 7 Ways to Change the World, which aims to find and fund innovative ways for technology to achieve social change. The seven people who submit the best ideas will each win a PC running Windows 7. And each winner's chosen community organization will receive a $7,000 grant.
We’re asking everyone to describe their ideas in videos that they post online for everyone else to see. That way, we hope to create something of real value: a library of creative ideas that will help nonprofits find new ways to use technology to be even more effective in delivering services to the most vulnerable in our society.
Last week I had the opportunity to talk a bit about 7 Ways to Change the World at the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) annual meeting in San Francisco. For over 15 years, BSR has helped lead the private sector to become more involved in addressing social, economic and environmental issues. This year’s meeting, coming 12 months after the onset of the financial crisis, naturally became a forum for some of the world’s leading companies to discuss what went wrong and propose new, more sustainable ways of doing business. This was reflected in the theme, “Reset Economy. Reset World.”
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