We’re focused on creating technology that empowers people to do amazing things. And, our YouthSpark initiative embodies our belief that young people have a particular opportunity to harness technology to bring about positive change in the world around them. Whether it is contributing as skilled employees, building their own businesses as entrepreneurs, or solving problems to strengthen their communities, we’re committed to helping these young people achieve their goals.
Dynamic young Latino leaders and cutting edge technology are a powerful combination. Earlier this month we were honored to host an impressive group of young leaders from the Latino community at the Microsoft’s Innovation & Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and to help them build the technology skills we believe will accelerate their impact.
More than 100 Latino student leaders from colleges around the country came to Washington, D.C. for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) 2015 Emerge Latino Conference. The student leaders received a LULAC scholarship to attend the three-day conference where they developed valuable skills in advocacy, networking, and leadership.
As part of the Emerge Latino curriculum, we created and hosted two training sessions at our offices in partnership with Voices for Innovation partners, Ryan Risley of Brittenford Systems and Frank Valdivieso of Gryphon Consulting. Students received in-depth training on the latest cloud and mobile technology with a strong emphasis on how to use these powerful tools to enhance their learning, collaborate with others, connect to new resources and realize their ideas. It was inspiring to see the energy and passion these leaders brought to the event and their creativity in thinking about how to use these new found skills and this new technology.
LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the United States focused on advancing the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 1,000 LULAC councils nationwide. Microsoft has actively supported LULAC’s work for several years, including contributions of over $2 million dollars in software to support 60 LULAC community centers around the country.
We are proud of our continued partnership, encouraged by LULAC’s mission in communities, and thrilled that we were part of their national conference to help train the next generation of Latino leaders.
We’re excited to see how this group of young leaders will use technology to realize their dreams.