Microsoft's New Philanthropy Effort Will Focus on Access to Technology

Microsoft has launched a new philanthropic effort named, funnily enough, Microsoft Philanthropies. The initiative aims to “deliver the benefits of technology to a wider segment of the population,” and will be investing in a range of schemes from “providing access and connectivity to the public cloud to delivering digital skills training.” The organization’s chief, Microsoft veteran Brad Smith, isn’t giving away many details at the moment, but says it has earmarked $75 million to go toward computer education efforts over the next three years.

“Despite global expansion, increased access, and democratization of technology, the benefits of technology are not yet reaching everyone in the world,” wrote Smith in a blog post announcing the venture. He cites poverty, lack of education, accessibility and remote communities as specific barriers to this, and says that Microsoft Philanthropies will “contribute in new and more impactful ways to a societal ecosystem that connects the benefits of technology.”

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via