Public sector
Microsoft takes tech to rural China
4 June 2008
Microsoft is to provide training, as well as donate PCs and technology classrooms to China’s rural areas. The new initiatives extend the Unlimited Potential programme, which the company launched in China just over a year ago.
Microsoft will donate two fully equipped InfoWagons, open a Partners in Learning (PiL) school, launch a Family Education PC programme for rural communities in Miyun county outside Beijing, and provide digital literacy content and training in libraries and iCafés across Xinjiang.
“The problems China is currently facing, especially in the rural areas, include the digital divide and the widening income gap between rural and urban residents,” said Rau Chang, general manager of Microsoft’s Public Sector Group for the Greater China Region. “In its latest five-year plan, the Chinese government has placed an emphasis on rural development, known as San Nong. These latest Microsoft efforts will use information and communications technology to support the government on rural economic development, healthcare and education.”
As part of the overall Rural Education PC programme, Microsoft is partnering with a leading local OEM, Founder, as well as a local school and education department to launch the Founder Windows PC for Education. The launch will take place at an event in Miyun county outside Beijing on 4 June.
The product will have Windows Vista and Windows Live preinstalled, along with new learning software tailored for the Chinese education market. Learning documentation will be provided for both parents and students, as will some basic computing and Windows Vista training especially designed for the first-time PC users.
“This is in line with our Unlimited Potential vision of bringing the benefits of technology and education by working with local partners and governments to provide educational resources and technologies to communities outside the major cities,” said Orlando Ayala, Microsoft senior vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group.