"In Malta, volunteering is a strong part of our identity. Malta has around 900 registered NGOs whose great work is contributing to the well-being of many individuals and families thus supporting their role in the creation of a better society." This was stated by Marie Louise Coleiro Preca President of Malta during the start of a Technology For Good Event organised by Microsoft at its Microsoft's Innovation Centre for Maltese NGOs.
In her address, the President commended Microsoft for its ongoing support to Malta's NGOs as well as all those who are involved in the local voluntary sector.
"Volunteering makes citizens more aware of the realities around them and sensitive to the difficulties that other people have to live with on a daily basis. It is very important that more companies like Microsoft recognize their potential to support more NGO's because supporting NGOs means supporting a better community," added President Coleiro Preca.
The President took the opportunity to thank Microsoft for last year's donation of $19,820 in 20 on-premise Windows and Office licences to the MCCF.
Thanking the President and all NGOs, Panayiotis Ioannou, Country Manager of Microsoft Malta said "We believe in NGO's and the work they are doing in Malta and supporting them, means supporting a better community, enabling its members to reach out to those in need and helping them become better citizens. We want to see Malta's NGO's fully harness the power of innovation to meet the needs of our country and the various communities. This is why we have constantly invested in this community and to date we are proud to say that Microsoft has donated about €1.5 million worth of software to NGO's in Malta."
Microsoft's Technology for Good event sought to help Maltese NGOs find out how they can operate better and more efficiently through the use of innovation and technology. During this event, Microsoft also launched its new Office 365 for Nonprofits, a product that is being donated to local NGOs as part of Microsoft's Citizenship programme. This new offer follows an announcement late last year that Microsoft was extending its software donations to 184 new markets for a total of 238 markets overall, including Malta. Moreover, donations and discounts of Office 365 Nonprofit were also made available in 26 new markets for a total of 139 markets overall, an availability that will continue to expand as its commercial availability expands.
In Malta, Microsoft has had ample opportunity to realize how NGO's are such a vital part of the local community and we are truly appreciative of the great work they do across so many different spheres. This is why every year, Microsoft makes it a point to reach out to these NGO's through our annual NGO Connection Days, now renamed to 'Technology for Good' events during which organisations meet together and find out more how our technology can help them operate more efficiently.
We like reaching out physically to these NGOs because they also help us understand how we can improve our technology and our processes. Besides events at our Microsoft Innovation Centre, we have also hosted an NGO Connection Day in Gozo.
The event was supported by five Microsoft Partners namely eMerge, Eyetech, Fonicom, Micro Technology and PWC. These partners provided technical support during the event as well as at a follow-up workshop for the NGOs who signed up for Office 365 at the event.