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Google Apps now south of the Sahara
March 19, 2007
Posted by Francoise Brougher, Business Operations Team
Tens of thousands of university students in Rwanda and Kenya are now on their way to using
Google Apps
. As a result of two separate partnerships that
we've signed today
with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Kenya Education Network, nearly 20,000 students from the
National University of Rwanda
, the
Kigali Institute for Education
and the
Kigali Institute for Science and Technology
, plus 50,000 more from Kenya's
University of Nairobi
, are joining their colleagues at
Northwestern
,
ASU
and
around the world
with access to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets under their university's domain for free.
Offering Google Apps in Africa means more to us than connecting students and teachers to conduct that special exchange of ideas, innovation and creativity so unique to universities (
we should know
). In Africa and in the developing world, it also means doing our part to make sure that everyone has access to the same services wherever they live, whatever their language, and regardless of income.
We can't be more delighted about our Google Apps partnerships with Rwanda and Kenya, and there are more to come.
Seeing RED
December 1, 2006
Posted by Sheryl Sandberg, VP
You might have noticed from our homepage that today is
World AIDS Day
. We want to remember all those who have suffered from HIV/AIDS in the 25 years since it was first identified, and we want to support everyone working to eradicate this scourge: Today, there are about 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, and it is increasing in every region in the world. In Africa, it is the leading cause of death -- 5,500 Africans die each day from this insidious disease.
One effort that is making a difference is
(RED)
, a company founded this year by Bono and Bobby Shriver. A percentage of the profits from each (RED) product sold is given to
The Global Fund
. We are supporting the (RED) effort by offering promotional support to (RED) and
(RED) products
on Google properties throughout the holiday season.
We hope you choose to support them with your purchases. Companies offering (RED) products have committed to contribute a portion of profits from the sales of that product into Global Fund-financed AIDS programmes in Africa.
Together, let's make a big difference. Read more at
JoinRED.com
or visit the
(RED) blog
.
Know where you are
November 13, 2006
Posted by Terry Garcia, Executive VP Mission Programs, National Geographic
Welcome to
Geography Awareness Week 2006
.
National Geographic has been exploring and inspiring people to care about the planet for more than a century. But today -- with new geo-technologies such as
Google Earth
,
Google Maps
and the National Geographic-ESRI
MapMachine
— anyone hooked into the web can explore any place on Earth at the click of a mouse. Caring begins with seeing, and there’s no better way to see a place than to be there. So we know these new geographic tools mean better stewardship of our world’s extraordinary places, animals, and cultures.
This year we’re celebrating Africa.
My Wonderful World
— the National Geographic-led campaign for geographic literacy — has teamed up with Google to create a new
Geography Awareness Quiz on Google Earth
that lets you test your global IQ as you tour the continent.
All week, we’ll also highlight innovative projects that bring Africa to the rest of the world, such as Michael Fay’s
Megaflyover
,
National
Geographic
magazine’s coverage of Africa on Google Earth, and the
Koobi Fora Research Project
-- on our My Wonderful World
blog
. We hope you’ll join us!
TechnoServe comes to Google
January 30, 2006
Posted by Posted by Bruce McNamer, President and CEO, TechnoServe.org
The
Google Foundation
supports select organizations whose work addresses the challenge of global poverty in ways that are effective, sustainable, and scalable. From time to time we invite guest bloggers from grantee organizations to tell their story.
TechnoServe
helps entrepreneurs in developing countries build successful small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that benefit the world’s poor. (
Watch our video here
.) We provide a hand up, rather than a handout.
Recently, I spent several hours with Googlers who wanted to know more about what TechnoServe is doing in West Africa. I couldn’t help but notice the great, positive energy among Google employees -- a sense that motivated, imaginative, smart people can change the world.
TechnoServe’s engagement with Google involves using business to improve the lives of the world’s poor. SMEs are a major driver of sustained economic growth, creating a ripple effect that creates jobs, boosts incomes and leads to improved social services. But even though they can help reduce poverty, SMEs are precisely what the developing world lacks. These countries are home to many visionary entrepreneurs who are capable of launching and growing successful businesses. But they need help – to make sure their business ideas make sense, to plan and manage their enterprises, to find markets and financing, and to overcome technical challenges.
That’s where TechnoServe comes in. Since its founding, we have helped to create or improve more than 1,200 businesses, benefiting millions of people in 23 countries. We identify entrepreneurial men and women and then guide them in planning, marketing, operating and expanding businesses that are likely to succeed and help the poor. We then leverage these lead entrepreneurs to replicate and/or scale up their businesses and grow competitive, self-sustaining industries. Where necessary, we also tackle constraints in the industries’ enabling environments.
To complement all of this, we also run programs that promote a culture of entrepreneurship. One activity is business plan competitions, which help entrepreneurs turn good ideas into solid businesses. We have run these in Latin America and are now launching them in Africa. And that’s where the Google Foundation comes in: it’s helping us run a
business plan competition in Ghana
this year. All qualified entrants will come away with valuable business training. The winners will also receive vouchers for aftercare services to help them launch or expand their businesses, and 10 winners will also receive cash.
We’re looking forward to having Googlers actively engaged in this project. Our two entrepreneurially-focused organizations have joined forces, which we believe will lead to sustainable solutions for poverty alleviation.
The illuminated continent
September 16, 2005
Posted by Michael Jones, Google Earth CTO
Have you ever dreamed of Africa while reading
National Geographic
? The exotic photographs and thoughtful articles take you there with a magical sense of place. Today we embraced that magic by releasing Google Earth data layers that index
National Geographic
stories, images, journals, and even a live webcam in Africa.
Just start
Google Earth
, enable the National Geographic layers, and begin exploring.
Across Africa, you will see the familiar yellow National Geographic logo. Zoom in to see the title of each feature article or photograph. Click the icon and a pop-up balloon shows a photo and description along with links to the content. Follow those links to read the entire story right where it happened. Not only will you learn about Jane Goodall's Fifi, you'll see her home. Joining the stories and images are layers for National Geographic Sights & Sounds multimedia resources, a live WildCam in Botswana, and a collection of Mike Fay's Megaflyover images.
The Megaflyover images are stunning. Mike spent more than a year taking 92,000 high resolution photographs of the continent. That project is described in
Tracing the Human Footprint
, an article in the September 2005
National Geographic
. He selected 500 of his favorite scenes of people, animals, geological formations, and signs of human presence and annotated them in Google Earth. Look for the red airplane icons as you fly over Africa. Each of these marks a spot where a high resolution image awaits your own personal voyage.
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