Leonardo Velez De Villa

2020/07/07 Microsoft launched an initiative Monday to teach digital skills to 25 million people who lost their jobs due to Covid-19 by the end of 2020. The company will combine resources from itself and its subsidiaries LinkedIn and GitHub to identify in-demand jobs and skills, provide free skills and job-seeking tools and low-cost certifications. Through Linkedin, Microsoft is making some of its labor market insights available to policymakers and the public to identify global and regional demand for skills, emerging jobs and what companies are hiring. The company will provide $20 million in grants to nonprofits for those who are most under-resourced. Of that, $5 million will go to community-based nonprofits led by and serving communities of color in the U.S. The launch includes several nonprofit partners including The Trust for the Americas, Fondazione Mundo Digitale, Tech4Dev and the National Urban League. “Before this year comes to an end, we’ll see almost a quarter of a billion people lose their job,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said during a virtual launch event. “It’s a staggering number, in part, it’s the obvious reaction to this pandemic. … It’s also the result of long-term trends in our economy. Trends that have been unleashing more automation — automation that has been eliminating jobs that often involve more manual work, and replacing them with jobs that are more digitally focused.” Forecasts show 800 million people will need to learn new skills for their jobs by 2030, CEO Satya Nadella said during the event. The company’s data shows two years’ worth of digital transformation has occurred over the past two months. Microsoft estimates that by 2025, there will be 149 million new technology jobs, like creating software, cybersecurity, and privacy protection, Smith said. Microsoft is making certifications for its own technologies available for $15, down from more than $100, for those who say their employment has been impacted by the pandemic. That fee will be paid to third parties to scale to meet any surge in demand for certification exams. Those certifications cover things like Azure, Power Platform, Teams, security, and data analysis. Microsoft is also developing a new learning application embedded within Microsoft Teams, so employers around the world can more easily provide job training, to release in the fall. Watch Trevor Noah and Brad Smith interviewing Linda Eddleman here https://youtu.be/fhJAD7sQQ7w Learn more about Microsoft’s new initiative in https://news.microsoft.com/skills/ Read the original article published in https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/06/30/microsoft-launches-effort-train-25m-people.html

2020/06/22 Washington, D.C. 22 de junio de 2020- The Trust for the Amercias en alianza con la Iniciativa en Transparencia en Infrastructura de Jalisco (COST) y  el Instituto de Transparencia, Información Pública y Protección de Datos Personales del Estado de Jalisco ITEI inician un ciclo de seminarios para funcionarios públicos en Jalisco, México. Las sesiones virtuales en Zoom, de manera semanal. Los lunes de 16:00 a 17:30 hora Jalisco, MEX son abiertas al público. Estas sesiones se complementarán para 40 personas seleccionadas que completarántrabajo autónomo (lecturas, qüices, videos, otros) en la plataforma virtual de The Trust for the Americas.  A continuación el calendario y agenda del ciclo de seminarios: Módulo 1. Marco general – 22 de Junio Módulo 2. Introducción a los datos Abiertos – 29 de Junio Módulo 3. Apertura y calidad en los datos abiertos – 6 de Julio Módulo 4. Comunicación, uso y aprovechamiento de datos- 13 de Julio Sobre The Trust for the Americas:  The Trust for the Americas es una entidad sin fines de lucro afiliada a la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA). Establecida en 1997 para promover alianzas público-privadas, The Trust ha implementado proyectos en 24 países y ha trabajado con más de 1,000 organizaciones en la región. Nuestras iniciativas buscan promover oportunidades educativas y económicas, así como la responsabilidad y transparencia del gobierno. Nuestra alianza única con la OEA nos permite tener acceso a los tomadores de decisiones dentro de la región. Esta asociación fundamental es la sobre la cual creamos redes sólidas en todos los estados miembros y el sector privado. A través del desarrollo de nuestra región, The Trust continúa contribuyendo a superar los desafíos promoviendo alianzas estratégicas que generan resultados sostenibles.  The Trust for the Americas es una organización sin fines de lucro 501 (c) (3) de la Ciudad de Washington DC.       Visite: www.trustfortheamericas.org  Facebook: The Trust for the Americas  Twitter:   @Trust4Americas  Mexico

2020/04/28 As part of the second phase of an Open Government project: Transformation to an Open Public Administration in Belize, The Trust for the Americas in coordination with the Organization of American States (OAS), announces the official formation of an Ad-hoc Multi-stakeholder Steering Committee: The Belize Open Gov SC. This Open Government project, through funding support from the US Embassy Belmopan, is working to strengthen the creation of networks and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, supporting a long-term process to spur innovation, improving local government services, and activating international support mechanisms for enabling Belize to join the Open Government global movement. The Belize Open Gov SC is comprised of eleven member representatives with the objective to serve as the dialogue and decision-making mechanism to advance open government processes of the project and by extension the country of Belize. The installation of national open government committees is a well-established good practice around the world for those countries pursuing the strengthening of their open government efforts. The Belize Open Gov SC includes six government agencies with representatives from: Office of the Prime Minister (Michael Singh, Advisor for eGovernance and Digital Transformation), Central Information Technology Office (Ian Smith, Executive Director), Economic Development Council (Ishmael Quiroz, Executive Director), Attorney General’s Ministry (Imani Burgess, Crown Counsel), Department of Local Government (Clifford King, Director of Local Government) and the Integrity Commission (Deshawn Arzu Torres, Chairperson). Five civil Society organizations with representatives from: Belize PEACE Movement (Paco Smith, Good Governance & Anti-Corruption/External Relations Liaison), Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of BelizeATLIB (Dr. Sharmayne Saunders, Chairperson), Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry-BCCI (Dyon Elliott, Chief Policy Analyst), The Belize Mayors Association (Mayor Khalid Belisle, President) and the National Trade Union of Belize-NTUCB (Marvin Mora, President).  Rodrigo Iriani, Project Manager of the initiative, states ¨Essentially, the Open Government Steering Committee will play a pivotal role in supporting the coordination of participatory multi-stakeholder dialogues. Their ultimate contribution will reflect in the first draft of the National Open Government Action Plan for Belize.¨ For more information, please contact the Trust/OAS Local Project Coordinating Team, Ms. Audrey Robin (arobin@trust-oea.org), and Ms. Malenie Barnes (mbarnes@trust-oea.org). Keep connected to the project at https://www.facebook.com/OpenGovBelize. #OpenGovBelize About The Trust for the Americas: The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our initiatives, implemented through local partner organizations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities as well as to foster innovation in vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, The Trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance. The Trust has offices in Washington, D.C., Colombia, and Canada. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4Americas Belize

2020/04/22 Panama, April 13, 2020 – The National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI) in alliance with The Trust for the Americas, kickstarted a 10-week online course to train public officials on Open Government and Open Data principles.  This online course will provide training in complementary areas of public administration that will improve with open government and open data methodologies.  Currently, 60 information officers, who hold the responsibility in the different sectors of government to make the information available and met with the nation’s transparency requirements, are registered and receiving the training.     This series of webinars are activities carried out within the framework of the “Public Innovation through Open Data” project funded by the US Mission in Panama, which includes promoting collaboration between civil society and the government.    Juan Pablo Rodríguez, Director of Access to Information at ANTAI, emphasized that the role of citizens in these seminars “is a way to empower the use of their right to social audit and to ensure continuous collaboration between civil society, private sector, and governments under the concept of Open Government.”   By training public officials, the goal is to meet international open data standards and encourage local governments and civil society in Panama to create spaces for discussion, collaboration and accountability mechanism for citizens   A total of 90 public information officers are expected to complete the course in the coming months.   Panamá

2020/04/22 Washington DC, April 22, 2020 – The POETA Social Franchise organized a webinar during the COVID-19 contingency to support the entrepreneurs of our network and the general public. This session hosted by The Trust for the Americas with a special guest, Mauricio Leal Goldstein General Director and Co-founder of Fluxs by Nóvament, who presented his keynote, “Reinvent your Business Model: Challenges of Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis”.   The event was an opportunity to acknowledge the global change that all professionals in different industries are experiencing, specifically in the business sector. That is why adapting to innovative methods of working, collaborating, and learning while working from home are the challenges that many entrepreneurs face.  Now is the moment to push them to look for more efficient and modern alternatives. “Sharing knowledge and experiences is the most effective way to reinvent ourselves and conquer new spaces!” The POETA Social Franchise team shares with us when introducing the event.   Mauricio Leal shared his expertise with more than three hundred people from Latin America who connected through Microsoft’s TEAMS platform.   An enthusiastic audience that included people from different organizations and entrepreneurs from across Latin America with Interactive activities made the event a success for the organizers.  The event concluded with messages of satisfaction, request for information on future seminars to the team, and the guest speaker.  The POETA Social Franchise’s mission is to provide tools and knowledge to organizations that promote economic and social inclusion. Stay tuned for our upcoming events.  Argentina – Brasil – Chile – Estados Unidos – Colombia – Costa Rica – Ecuador – El Salvador – Guatemala – Honduras – Mexico – Nicaragua – Panamá – Perú – Puerto Rico – República Dominicana – Venezuela

2020/04/08 Originalmente publicado en el blog de The Trust for the Americas por Elizabeth Laredo y Maria Fernanda Sierra. Agradecemos a Walmart Foundation por contar con su apoyo para estos esfuerzos. A finales del mes de marzo lanzamos una exitosa estrategia digital para ofrecer capacitación y contenidos de calidad para mujeres egresadas del Proyecto VIVE y nuevas participantes: Las sesiones responden a las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) sobre el distanciamiento social y de la crisis actual por el COVID-19, con medidas virtuales e innovadoras para continuar implementando nuestra oferta de capacitación. Diseñamos contenido exclusivo para mujeres que son egresadas del Proyecto VIVE, estos insumos son compartidos a través de Facebook, específicamente en el grupo privado de Facebook “Comunidad de Egresadas de Proyecto VIVE”. Estos contenidos son: 3. Promover el registro y uso del Directorio de Emprendedoras VIVE: A finales del año 2019 creamos un directorio de emprendedoras, en el cual las egresadas del Proyecto VIVE pueden registrar la información básica de sus emprendimientos y darles difusión. Nos encargamos de divulgar el directorio mediante nuestra comunidad en línea y con nuestros aliados estratégicos. Para más información, aquí las ligas para consultar el blog y el directorio. Mexico

2020/04/08 Jamaica, 2 de Abril 2020.- The Trust for the Americas lanza agenda de capacitación virtual para dar inicio al Proyecto N.C.B. ICON Lab en Jamaica de la mano de nuestros aliados The Mico University en Kingston.  Esta serie de capacitaciones se adapta a un formato interactivo virtual, en la que los principales participantes son la facultad de The MICO University incluyendo profesores de varias disciplinas, y la mezcla de metodologías entre capacitaciones y webinars via Facebook. El objetivo de estas capacitaciones dirigidas a nuestros aliados locales en Jamaica, es involucrar a los futuros facilitadores del proyecto con las prácticas exitosas de los laboratorios de innovación y el Sistema de Información de The Trust for the Americas. El objetivo de estas capacitaciones dirigidas a nuestros aliados locales en Jamaica, es involucrar a los futuros facilitadores del proyecto con las prácticas exitosas de los laboratorios de innovación y el Sistema de Información de The Trust for the Americas. De la misma manera, nuestro aliado local Institute of Law and Economics (ILE), quienes llevan las operaciones del Laboratorio de Innovación Urbana para Jóvenes en Jamaica y el equipo de Proyecto VIVE México colaborarán compartiendo experiencias y metodologías con The MICO University y contribuir en el éxito del proyecto N.C.B. ICON Lab.  Parte de las capacitaciones que se llevarán a cabo incluyen:   El proyecto N.C.B. ICON Lab busca promover una mentalidad emprendedora, acceso al empleo y emprendimientos tecnológicos para jóvenes en riesgo en Jamaica, a través del acceso a un espacio colaborativo con capacitación de calidad y enlaces a un ecosistema de emprendimiento.   Jamaica

2020/04/07 Costa Rica, April 7, 2020.- Today, a series of online training for local governments began under the project “Improving municipal government services through innovation and local networks.” The month of open virtuality offers the possibility of developing dialogues to search for solutions to overcome the challenges that municipalities face, as well as proposing means to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. The objective of the virtual training series is to promote open government actions in times of COVID-19 and virtuality. This series of webinars aims to present experiences and challenges of governments, discuss effective methodologies, offer digital tools to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus in localities and facilitate spaces for dialogue to better understand the role of local government in times of pandemic and recession. The implementation of Open Data policies in the municipalities helps to improve the services to citizens, and at the same time, allows identifying tools that are vital for municipal empowerment. The webinar series includes the following topics and objectives: Tuesday, April 7: “Empowerment of local governments to mitigate the coronavirus.” Objective: To publicize the City Listener and Blockchain Certificates tools as means of municipal empowerment to mitigate the coronavirus and its rapid spread. Thursday, April 16: “The experience of the Municipality of Esparza in its live process of opening public data. Learnings and good practices. ” Objective: To share the challenges, progress, and achievements of the Municipality of Esparza in terms of Opening Public Data with a collaborative approach, in order to be a point of reference for other municipalities. Thursday, April 23: “A more efficient and agile municipal government: CoLABora Methodology to simplify procedures focused on users.” Objective: To share the experience of the coLABora methodology in the pilot project simplifying the patent process in various local governments of the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica. Thursday, April 30. “The role of local government in times of pandemic: effective communication and listening to the private and entrepreneurial sector.” Objective: To recognize the role of municipalities in supporting the private, commercial and entrepreneurial sector in times of pandemic and recession. Among the participants were officials from Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay. Costa Rica

2020/04/02 This is the first ideathon in Jamaica in which youth will present projects to offer solutions for the challenges posed by the COVID-19 April 1, 2020- The Trust for the Americas and the Institute of Law & Economy (ILE) with support of Citi Foundation is launching a two-day urban challenge ideathon through our DIA Lab in Jamaica. In this virtual workshop, fifty young participants shortlisted from more than one hundred registries will find solutions to combat the impact of the fast-spreading COVID-19 specific to select sectors of Jamaica. This activity will serve as a platform for youth to start their long-term project in community building or disruptive entrepreneurship. Thirty solutions will reach to the virtual pitch phase, which will happen on Monday, April 6, 2020, at 9:00 am. The solutions will focus on the following themes: · COVID-19 & Health · COVID-19 & Education and Access to Information · COVID-19 & Economic Relief · COVID-19 & Crime and Security Davey Haughton from the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information, Michael Sappleton from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Agriculture, Simone Green from the Youth Innovation Centre, Spanish Town, and the renowned entrepreneur Mrs. Godiva Golding will be the judges to select the winning projects based of the innovation and entrepreneurial potential of the solutions. Linda Eddleman, Executive Director of the Trust for the Americas commented: ¨As the world is facing significant challenges amidst the COVID-19 situation, this virtual ideathon is an excellent opportunity to empower youth to be protagonists of the solutions for the communities. We are proud to support their ideas coming from remote places of Jamaica to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit of the island.¨ Follow the ideathon and support our entrepreneurs while working and creating solutions through these hashtags and in our social media. #DIAJamaica #Ideathon2020 #DIAInnovation #OvercomeCovid19 #Innovateremotely #Covidsolutions About The Trust for the Americas: The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our initiatives, implemented through local partner organizations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities as well as to foster innovation in vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, The Trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance. The Trust has offices in Washington, D.C., Colombia, and Canada. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4America Jamaica

2020/03/26 El miércoles 25 de marzo de 2020, The Trust for the Americas llevó adelante la primera capacitación de Teams, liderada por Jorge Cella, director de filantropías de Microsoft para América Latina.   Teams es una plataforma que permite establecer comunicaciones unificadas en las organizaciones, ofreciendo funcionalidades como chat, reuniones, llamadas, colaboraciones, integración de aplicaciones o almacenamiento de archivos. The Trust for the Americas utiliza esta herramienta para coordinar sus operaciones en más de 20 países del hemisferio.   The Trust for the Americas durante las últimas dos semanas, se ha enfocado en identificar cuáles son aquellos cursos y oportunidades de capacitación que podrían tener mayor interés en el público, sobre todo para los operadores de los centros tecnológicos y socios locales de nuestra franquicia social POETA y en nuestros beneficiarios para seguir adelante con su trabajo diario, su capacitación y su educación.   Con mucha satisfacción pudimos verificar que las 273 personas de 13 países que estuvieron conectadas en la presentación, nos confirmaron la importancia de la capacitación y el entrenamiento online en este momento.   El contexto de crisis que trajo aparejada la pandemia del coronavirus en América Latina nos convoca a una responsabilidad mayor de seguir brindando oportunidades y capacitaciones a nuestros beneficiarios en toda América Latina y el Caribe.   Es por eso que, a partir de esta semana, con el lanzamiento de este primer curso, estaremos realizando una serie de capacitaciones en formato virtual, por Teams través del uso de nuestra plataforma exclusiva “aula virtual” con la cual damos apertura a un conjunto de capacitación continua para nuestros beneficiarios garantizando el seguimiento de nuestras operaciones y el apoyo a toda la red de centros en la región.  Los invitamos a mantenerse atentos a nuestras redes sociales para información de nuestra programación.  About The Trust for the Americas: The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our initiatives, implemented through local partner organizations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities as well as to foster innovation in vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, The Trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance. The Trust has offices in Washington, D.C., Colombia, and Canada. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org  Facebook: The Trust for the Americas  Twitter:   @Trust4Americas Argentina – Brasil – Chile – Estados Unidos – Colombia – Costa Rica – Ecuador – El Salvador – Honduras – Mexico – Panamá – Perú – Puerto Rico – República Dominicana