Microsoft underlined its commitment to develop the community through providing ICT skills necessary to participate and communicate in the 21st century, especially amongst NGOs, with the successful launch of its third Unlimited Potential (UP) Day. In line with this year's tagline 'Passion for Change', UP Day 2008 is focused on encouraging a mindset change towards ICT, especially amongst NGOs. This is necessary to dispel the fear of acceptance and usage towards ICT, and encouraging workers to change and embrace its benefits.

Speaking at the launch of UP Day, Prof Dato' Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, President, National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) said, "NGOs rely on contributions from the public sector, and these may not necessarily be in the form of cash. What Microsoft is doing is a good example of what a responsible corporate citizen, based on its core competencies, can do to help NGOs achieve better overall performance."  

Also announced at the launch was the soon-to-be available Microsoft Charity Open Licensing initiative. As a compliment to Microsoft's UP-CTSP program, the licensing initiative aims to further enable NGOs to realize their potential by allowing eligible NGOs to acquire multiple software licenses at reduced prices.  

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Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia, added, "We believe in empowering the masses with ICT knowledge and bridging the digital divide in today's fast-paced and information-based society, especially amongst NGOs. After receiving feedback from various participants over the last two UP Days, we have decided to tailor our programs to better meet the targeted needs of NGOs this year, especially in terms of specific skills and enhanced expertise."

Attended by 100 participants representing 30 NGOs including HOPE Worldwide, Shelter, P.S. The Children and CHILD, to name a few, this year's training tracks were designed to cater to beginners as well as intermediate users of Microsoft's products. Educational tracks included modules for Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher. Additionally, a separate session was held for more advanced users - entitled 'Securing your Environment', the session focused on the Internet and PC security as well as online safety.   

Training was executed by Iverson Associates Sdn Bhd  and the curriculum and training modules were the same as those used to train Microsoft's partners, employees and customers. The only difference is the shortened modules, designed to cater to the shorter duration for each session. 

"It is important for NGOs to integrate ICT into their processes and workstyle - the heightened level of production, efficiency and the ability to now communicate seamlessly will further their social causes. Being able to harness the benefits of ICT will also empower the NGOs and its workers from both social and economical standpoints," Yasmin continued. 

In addition to the training tracks, moderated roundtable sessions, designed to provide NGOs with an avenue to network based on their social causes, were also held. Divided into teams based on respective social causes, this allowed similarly-inclined NGOs to voice common ICT-related issues, share best practices on issues management and also to gather feedback for next year's UP Day. 

To track the efficiency and effectiveness of the training tracks, participants were given an activity towards the end of the day. This involved a particular problem, which had to be tackled using different Microsoft Office applications, depending on which track the participants attended earlier in the day. 

Microsoft also launched its Malaysian Unlimited Potential Community Training Skills program (UP-CTSP), website (http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/giving) during UP Day 2008. The website is designed to be a one-stop information centre for Microsoft's community initiatives.

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