Technology company Microsoft has donated more than P1 billion worth of support to the Manila City government that will benefit thousands of students, teachers, and residents.
Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso thanked Microsoft for the support which consisted of 290,000 licenses for Microsoft 365, among others.
Domagoso and Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding for the software licenses which is worth about P3,500 each, with renewal every year.
“All students will get Microsoft global education program access while residents will get the opportunity to learn new digital jobs,” Domagoso said.
For its part, Microsoft representatives said the company is committed to provide training for those who work from home and eventually help provide residents better work with the right or proper digital skills.
Microsoft said those with digital skills as certified by Microsoft have a better chance of landing jobs.
The City of Manila meanwhile won three awards for digital governance
Domagoso has already laid down the foundation for immediate the attainment of “Smart City” status for the country’s capital city as it won three awards during the Digital Governance Awards 2021 on “LGUs Best Practices in Information and Communication Technology” held last Oct. 29.
The awards include the Covid 19-Testing Center Web-Lab-IS – Best in LGU Empowerment Award (City Level) – 1st place; City of Manila Connection for Inclusion Award – Best in Customer Empowerment Award (City Level) 1st place; and the Business Permit Licensing Service (BPLS) – Best in Business Empowerment Award (City Level) 2nd Place.
“Becoming a smart city will improve the delivery of services externally and enhances our overall business and investment-friendly attractiveness, especially as we seek to recover from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Domagoso said.
The partnership between the City of Manila and Microsoft substantially advances the ambitions and goals for the “Go Manila” initiative, across three broad partnership work’plans: empowering every Manila resident to become smart citizens; modernizing Manila’s LGU workplace; and enhancing and promoting data-driven policies and governance.
Presently, Manila is engaged in a prototyping exercise to create digital IDs for every one of Manilas two million plus residents, with an initial focus on the estimated 350,000 poorest and most at-risk or vulnerable populations. Many of these individuals do not possess formal identification and without such, cannot apply for a national ID.
Additionally, in partnership with the Department of Education, Manila’s 290,000 public-school students will be provided free email addresses and free Microsoft 365 accounts, equipping them with the vast abilities that Microsoft applications offer.