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Thursday, June 30, 2005
Ng: Tradition of giving
By Wilson Ng
Wired Desktop
MICROSOFT AT 10. This is the 10th year of Microsoft doing business in the Philippines. I have been fortunate to be its partner since it set up office here to launch Windows 95, a revolutionary marvel compared to Windows 3.1.
The launch was greeted with great welcome. People lined up at midnight to be among the first to buy copies, with anticipation akin to that greeting a new Star Wars movie or Harry Potter book. Windows has now matured. And while the new versions have better features, most customers now prefer to wait and see before they buy.
I have learned a lot from working with Microsoft. Many of the principles I use to manage my own business came from insights I gleaned from observations on how Microsoft is managed.
I have also learned a lot on community work. Bill Gates, the founder and chairman, is not only the world’s richest man for 10 years running, but he is also the world record holder for giving the most money, over $30 billion, to philanthropy.
Microsoft Philippines has continued this tradition of giving. For seven years now, Microsoft has donated computers to public elementary schools, normally in remote areas. Through this Connected Learning Community Project, it has donated hundreds of computers to schools nationwide.
Another project is focused on teacher empowerment. The Partners in Learning Project is headed by academic director Sam Jacoba, together with Fr. Jomar Legaspi of Learn.PH.
This comes from the notion that merely donating computers, even with great software, is not enough. The appropriate training and motivation of the teacher has been found to have the most profound effect on the success of computerization. This was attested to by Ms Luli Arroyo, director of the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, who has a similar project involving the donation of computers and teacher training.
OVERSEAS WORKERS. Microsoft has embarked on a new project called Tulay.
This aims to establish centers where Filipino oversea workers can get training. These centers are located in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and also in the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration office in Manila and Cebu.
These are computer laboratories equipped with broadband and software, where overseas workers can go to learn skills, chat with their relatives back home or do video conferencing if it is available.
I was skeptical at first. Why the overseas workers? Aren’t these people well off? They are earning dollars. Can’t they afford to pay for a decent computer education?
However, I was able to see the wisdom later. The truth is that most overseas workers are not that well off. Many endure discrimination and perform lowly work. Most of them send what they earn back home for relatives to invest, hoping it will earn enough to allow them to come home. Upgrading their computer skills allows these people to improve their employability value.
CURRICULUM REFORM. I also heard Fr. Jomar Legaspi speak at the Cebu ICT conference. He said 70 percent of public high school students never go to college. However, they are handicapped by a school system whose main purpose is to train people and prepare them for college. Majority of the subjects are on reading, science, history and the like. This means that if they drop out, they won’t have skills that will get them gainfully employed!
Fr. Legaspi suggested curriculum reform so we can teach them real world skills while they are still in school. His observations are very relevant, and I am glad Microsoft is providing the support and forum to allow these issues to be considered. More next week!
(www.bizdrivenlife.net)
(June 30, 2005 issue)
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