Dubai, April 15th, 2006 (WAM) - Minister of Education Dr. HanifHassan inaugurated today the first of 20 Kindergarten schoolsequipped with the KidSmart Early Learning Centres in a ceremonyattended by a number of high profile delegates and representativesof the ministry and IBM.

Present from the Ministry were Khawla Mouallah, AssistantUndersecretary for Education Administration, Dr. Fawzeya Badri,Director of the Kindergarten Division, and Mr. Khalifa Bin Faris,head of educational sector in Dubai. Representing IBM were Mr.

Brandon Riley, General Manager IBM Central Europe, Middle East,Austria and Switzerland, Mr. Takreem El-Tohamy, General ManagerIBM Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan, and Ms. Celia Moore, Managerof Corporate Community Relations, IBM Europe, Middle East andAfrica (EMEA), as well as other senior executives from the educationsector in the UAE.

The global IBM KidSmart programme, which is made up of PC-basedtools that encourage collaborative learning using software earlyyears learning tools, is currently being rolled out in areaswithin Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman.

"This program underscores the important role of information technologyin our children's education from an early age. The KidSmart systemoffers opportunities for computer-based learning and is partof the Ministry's strategy to develop public education in theUAE," said Dr. Hanif Hassan as he thanked IBM for its role insupporting the initiative.

The Kidsmart initiative includes the gift by IBM of 50 speciallyequipped early learning centres designed by IBM in collaborationwith children's equipment manufacturer Little Tikes. The unitsare designed to allow two or more children to work together,sharing learning experiences driven by educational software developedby Riverdeep. The software, which has been translated into Arabic,covers basic skills in maths, science and creative writing andthinking.

Besides the tools, IBM offered training to early years' teachers.

The Kindergarten Division, Ministry of Education, is supportingthe programme with project management, teacher training and selectionof appropriate teaching and management resources as well as workingwith IBM in selecting Kindergarten schools to participate inthe programme.

"The KidSmart programme will play a key role in the developmentof early learning education and e-learning," said Takreem AlTohamy, General Manager, IBM Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan.

'We are very proud to be working with the Ministry of Educationin making a very real contribution to enhancing early years learningfor communities where we believe technology can bring very realbenefits but where resources remain a key issue.' The Kidsmart programme includes ongoing development and trainingopportunities for early learning practitioners, including accessto the global Kidsmart website which has been developed in partnershipwith the US Centre for Children and Technology. The site, www.kidsmartearlylearning.orgprovides ongoing resources and support for teachers and parentsusing ICT with young children and is multi-lingual.

IBM developed KidSmart in 1999 to extend its partnership programmesin the education sector to cover the critical pre-school years.

The KidSmart programme exists in more than 50 countries aroundthe world. The programme was designed specifically to addressthe digital divide in access to Information Technology.

KidSmart units were contributed to kindergarten schools so thatchildren who do not have access to IT are still able to benefitfrom enriched teaching and learning.