Microsoft Arabia Wins Best Contribution in Education Award from Middle East Developers- 2004

"Education is a Strategic approach at Microsoft," says Al Dhaher;

Partners in Learning will bring the benefits of ICT to students in Saudi Arabia

Gitex Dubai, 5^th October, 2004:  Microsoft Arabia today won "Best Contribution in Education Award from Middle East Developers, 2004" Wessam Abdel Warth General Manager for Middle East Developers presented the award to Microsoft Arabia's General Manager, Dr. Khaled Al Dhaher in recognition of Microsoft Arabia's efforts and contribution to support education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The award ceremony coincided with the official opening of Gitex Dubai 2004.

Wessam Abdel Warth, General Manager for Middle East Developers said: "In the past few years, the technology and telecommunication market in Saudi Arabia witnessed around 10% growth, thanks to the ambitious plans of the country's government and the active participation of technology companies working in the Kingdom." He continued: "Middle East Developers, in appreciation of the efforts of private sector players in ICT in the Kingdom, is presenting this award to Microsoft Arabia for its role in ensuring that students receive ICT teaching of the highest standard, and that teachers are prepared and supported to educate Saudi Arabia's future generation in the IT skills they need for employment in the modern workplaces."

Dr Khalid Al Dhaher, General Manager, Microsoft Arabia said that this initiative reflects the company's commitment to Microsoft Partners in Learning initiative in the region. "Microsoft's thrust towards investment in developing and training national human resources comes in support of the efforts by the Saudi Government to enable society to face future challenges and give effective roles to Saudi in serving their families and society."

It is very important to highlight that Microsoft Arabia and the Ministry of Education invested in previous projects and initiatives.  Such cooperation was the result of belief by both parties that the educational sector is the most significant social development pillar in Saudi Arabia.

It is worth noting that Microsoft Arabia and the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week to bring improved ICT education to schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under Microsoft's "Partners in Learning" global initiative.  By which, Microsoft Arabia will fund the following investments under the umbrella of Microsoft's "Partners in Learning" program, hoping that they would contribute positively to the utilization of IT in the educational process. More than 30,000 Saudi teachers, IT teachers, & IT supervisors will be given intensive training in basic computer skills, Microsoft Certified System Administration (MCSA), Microsoft Certified System Engineering (MCSE) and Microsoft Project.  The E-Learning Gateway will be introduced at 25 schools in Riyadh. Gateway is an e-learning solution that enhances the education process.  The Digital Curriculum, which can be integrated with Class Server 3.0, will be introduced for grades 4 to 12. Finally, Microsoft will support the Ministry's initiative to consolidate all its data and information into a single data centre.

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About Microsoft Arabia
Microsoft Arabia was established in the Kingdom in 1998 with headquarters in Riyadh and branch offices in Jeddah and Al-Khobar. It is the leading software provider in the Saudi market providing sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both Arabic and English. Our regional managers and management teams drive our long-term business direction and future growth. Microsoft Arabia complements its products and services with educational programs and technical seminars designed to transfer the latest technological information and updates to the Kingdom for the benefit of enterprise customers, small and medium business owners, developers, systems engineers and other IT professionals.  Microsoft Arabia is also genuinely committed to promoting other sectors of the community using IT.  The company has been involved in many programs and projects that support disability organizations, a hospital for the treatment and rehabilitation of narcotics addicts, an organization that cares for gifted persons, and others.  Education has also been a major focus for the Company's activities all over Saudi Arabia.  These activities covered the Ministry of Education and various universities. Our support and commitment to government initiatives is covering several horizontal and vertical sectors. We deal with several e-Government initiatives by envisioning and supporting technologies. We have delivered certain projects that build towards this direction. We also engaged in delivering several portal solutions in several government and private agencies. For more details, please visit our website: https://www.microsoft.com/saudi 

For further information contact:
Media contact:
Walid El Shahed
ASDA'A Public Relations
Riyadh, KSA
Tel: 01 4640051
Fax: 01 4682819
Email:  w.shahed@ Asdaa.com 

Microsoft Contact:
Ismail Al Ghamdi
Education Sector Manager
Microsoft Arabia
Tel: 01 2188016
Fax: 2188001 

Middle East Developers contact:
Wessam Abdel Warth
Middle East Developers
Riyadh, KSA
Tel: 01 2181166
Email: wessam@medevelopers.net 

Microsoft Contact:
Name: Mohammed Al Sagga
PR Manager
Microsoft Araia
Tel: 01 2188044
Email:v-msaqqa@microsoft.com

© Press Release 2004