At the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Africa on Tuesday,
Microsoft Corp. announced a number of initiatives in cooperation
with local and global organizations that are aimed in part at
boosting tourism in Africa as a way to spur economic development on
the continent.
A partnership between Microsoft and the United Nations World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) plans to use technology to introduce
new services that can improve tourist access to information and
offer distance training. As part of the cooperation, Microsoft will
support UNWTO's collaboration with the New Partnership for Africa's
Development to create a portal called Windows on Africa.
The portal will combine pan-African tourism content on one Web
site. The site will also link to information from visitor centers,
museums and libraries. The organizations hope ultimately to make
the information available on mobile devices. The portal will also
feature a tourism industry and skills curriculum to help local
people learn more about the tourism industry.
Speaking during the conference, Bill Gates, chairman and chief
software architect at Microsoft, said that the goal of many such
Microsoft initiatives in Africa is to help build local
knowledge-based economies in order to generate new jobs and growth
opportunities, the company said.
Microsoft also said that, along with UNWTO, it will also build
an emergency-response system to support information sharing and
messaging throughout the tourism industry during natural or
man-made catastrophes. The system will combine existing networks in
industries such as hotel, airline and cruise ships that already
provide disaster communication. The first application for the
system will be to offer support for bird flu preparedness.
On Monday, Microsoft announced other new initiatives including
one with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
that will offer skills training and resources to help small and
medium sized businesses in Africa use technology.
Microsoft also said it will continue to develop support in its
software products for additional African languages.
The Microsoft Government Leaders Forum took place on Monday and
Tuesday in Cape Town. In addition to Gates, former U.S. President
Bill Clinton spoke. The purpose of the conference was to bring
together government and business leaders to discuss Africa's global
competitiveness.
Gates recently said he plans to leave his daily role at
Microsoft in order to devote more time to the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, a charity organization he started with his wife.
The foundation is well-known for the health and education
initiatives it has spearheaded in Africa.
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