Beiruting News

Under the patronage of H.E. the Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Rashid Derbass, the Higher Council for Children in collaboration with Online Safety Lebanon organized a Microsoft NGO Day in the aim of enhancing NGOs productivity for a better Lebanon. Following the conference, three workshops took place highlighting the most effective methods to: Enable NGOs and Manage the Success of their Projects, Utilize and Benefit fromInformation Technology and Deploy Internet Safety Culture for Children.

NGO decision-makers are becoming more and more adept at cutting edge tools especially withmobile applications and social networking services available at their fingertips; but these are mostly being used in their personal capacity, with only a few used in pursuit of the goals of their organisations. Microsoft NGO Day leverages the pervasiveness of the personal use of advanced tools in order to integrate a faster adoption of technologies that will help NGOs achieve mobility and productivity at the workplace.

Secretary General at the Higher Council for Childhood, Mrs.Rita Karam, commented on the occasion: "The collaboration with Microsoft for this event is a continuation of the efforts of the Ministry of Social Affairs to strengthen the capacities of NGOs for using new technologies in their work, in order to accomplish their mission more effectively. Microsoft's donations combined with the support process that includes trainings and workshops extended to NGOs by Microsoft experts, will surely have a positive impact on the entire community".

In line with Microsoft's commitment towards enabling people and organizations in underserved communities to realize their potential through the power of technology, Microsoft announced that the latest version of Office 365 is now available as a donation for nonprofits and NGOsin Lebanon. This is a significant new investment in helping nonprofits do more good by providing them with Microsoft's best-in-class cloud service. Office 365 provides NGOs with industry-leading productivity and collaboration tools so they can streamline IT and focus on serving their communities.

"Microsoft is proud to work with more than 62,000 nonprofits around the world every year to provide them with affordable access to the technology they need to support their work in local communities and  to help them be more effective and innovative in their day-to-day operations", said Microsoft Country Manager, Mrs. Hoda Younan. "In Lebanon, we work closely with more than 50 NGOs; whether it is through our software donations, technology solutions, or Office 365 for nonprofits, we strive to help NGOs do more good in our community", she continued.

Last year Microsoft donated over $800 million worth of software to more than 62,000 nonprofits around the world. The company also developed training curricula to enable community technology centers, schools, and many other programs. In addition, Microsoft has a disaster and humanitarian relief program aiming at increasing the technical capability of leading NGOs and public sector organizations in times of crisis. Through their Global Employee Engagement Program, Microsoft and its employees have, since 1983, donated more than $1 billion in cash, benefiting more than 31,000 organizations.

In Lebanon Microsoft donated to-date over $2 million worth of software to more than 30 NGOs. Thanks to Microsoft, more and more children in Lebanon are integrating the internet and technology into their daily lives; this why, Microsoft Lebanon made significant progress on raising awareness for family online safety in Lebanon, delivering workshops and sessions to Lebanese NGOs, educators, social workers, students and parents.