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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met today (Wednesday), 26.10.05, with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
Prime Minister Sharon welcomed Gates to Israel and said that he ascribes great importance to the fact that Microsoft, a world leader in such areas, is investing in Israel. “Israel is a superpower in the technology and computer fields and I believe that this stems from both Jewish tradition and the Jewish history of a small people whose only resource for many generations was human capital and brainpower. The absence of other physical resources both as the Jewish People was in the Diaspora and during its return to its homeland has caused the accelerated development of human capital as an alternative.”
The two men jointly announced a new national plan to reduce the digital gap in Israel, under the aegis of Prime Minister Sharon. The plan is the initiative of Microsoft and will be jointly undertaken by public sector companies and the private sector. The Prime Minister said: “Today, we are investing in an important project, the goal of which is to reach those children who have no access to computers and to give them the opportunity to become integrated into our modern life. We believe that the gap is opened at a young age and, therefore, we have chosen to deal with children. Our goal is to reach 250,000 underprivileged children – mainly on the periphery – by 2010, to utilize existing computer classrooms and give them full instruction that will prepare those children for the work market.”
Prime Minister’s Office Director-General Ilan Cohen and Microsoft Israel Managing Director Danny Yamin will oversee the project.
Due to its great importance, the project will be under the aegis of Prime Minister Sharon; he will aid in allocating the resources necessary for its implementation. For the first time, a coalition has been formed in the country between multi-national corporations such as Microsoft, Cisco and Orange-Partner, which will work to reduce the digital gap along with public bodies such as the Prime Minister’s Office, the Jewish Agency, the Union of Local Authorities, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and other organizations. Financing for the plan will come from Microsoft and donated funds; the various partners will provide technological and educational infrastructures.
Microsoft Chairman Gates briefed Prime Minister Sharon on Microsoft’s long-range commitment to the Israeli economy and investments in it, and cited – inter alia – Microsoft’s decision to establish a development center in Haifa and invest $100 million in translating its products into Hebrew.
Prime Minister Sharon congratulated Bill Gates on his upcoming 50th birthday.
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