“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 President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca during the start of a Technology for Good event, organised by Microsoft at its Innovation Centre for Maltese NGOs.
The President commended Microsoft for its ongoing support to Malta’s NGOs, as well as all thoseinvolved in the local voluntary sector.
“Volunteering makes citizens more aware of the realities around them and sensitive to difficulties other people have to live with on a daily basis. It is very important that more companies like Microsoft recognise their potential to support more NGOs because supporting NGOs means supporting a better community,” she said.
She then thanked Microsoft for last year’s donation of €17,373 in 20 on-premise Windows and Office licences to the MCCF.
Thanking the President and NGOs, Panayiotis Ioannou, country manager of Microsoft Malta, said: “We believe in NGOs 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 NGOs 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 Microsoft has donated about €1.5 million worth of software to NGOs 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 non-profits, 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.
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 NGOs who signed up for Office 365 at the event.