staying in Cape Town (Ed: Who wouldn't?) and formed the
company “Where is my transport”.
“We're looking to encourage creativity and left brain thinking
– unlimited by the blinkers of work and life. We're hoping to
?nd the next Bill Gates – the guys in their basements and
garages that are coming up with world changing ideas. And
what makes this programme amazing is that EVERY entrant
may result in some new idea being born, not JUSTthe
winner,” Says Vis.
Given the lack of engagement that many companies have
with their own social responsibility spending, Microsoft does
not simply throw money at a problem and feel that they have
done their part.
“We are actively involved in the running of every programme
we participate in. We don't just give a cheque and walk
away. We prefer to partner with government, NGOs and
social organisations, playing an active role.”
build IT skills, use IT for learning, and use them for
enterprise development. We train teachers to use IT as a
teaching tool – not just for teaching IT but across the whole
educational spectrum.”
Young people today are more tech savvy and more
comfortable with IT than at any other time in history. The
Microsoft vision is to use those tools to help these young
people learn, help them develop skills and ultimately help
them prosper.
For Vis, the key is innovation:“Microsoft is built on
innovation. Innovation is the life blood of any country and we
encourage it in every country we are in. With our Imagine
Cupprogramme - as with all our Corporate Social activities it's the right thing to do and it also makes good business
sense.
As we are discovering, in a world of 'cheque book charity',
this is far from the norm so we were quick to ask why?
“No matter what the ideas are, no matter how they are
adopted and rolled out, we bene?t because the more
technology is used, the more our market grows, the more
the economy is built, the more likely we are to have a market
to serve and a society to be a part of.
“We're involved in running these programmes because, as a
company, we believe we can add more value than just
paying the cost. We can bring Microsoft experiences and
competencies to the programmes. It's easy to write a
cheque and take a picture. We want to get our best and
brightest involved making sure these programmes work.”
“If we build a better country we are building a better market
for ourselves and everyone. Ultimately long term
sustainability is about building markets in the long term.CSR
is not about short term quarterly pro?ts, it's about taking the
long term view on the long term pro?tability and
sustainability of your business.”
Indeed, as we expected, we found the culture of
philanthropy very much alive in the house that Bill built.
NOTE: Since doing this interview Vis has moved to Canada
to take on a challenging role at Commonwealth of Learning,
an ICT and Distance Education for Development NGO
based in Canada. Microsoft's Social programmes are now
championed by Ashleigh Fenwick.
“We run and employee volunteer programme,which allows
all our employees an extra three days of leave that they can
use for volunteer work. We also have a company-wide
activity day. Most recently we worked with Habitat for
Humanity as a team building exercise where we didn't just
build a team; we built someone a place to live.”
Now, that might not be as much fun as paint-balling or gokarting, but you can be sure that they'll remember that
feeling for much longer.
But, if what Vis has to say is to be believed, this is not a
company where humanity is forgotten nor is it a company
that overestimates its own abilities to make a difference.
Here in the home of one of the most successful technology
companies in history, Vis is refreshingly honest and realistic
about the part that technology has to play in the world. He
admits that IT is not the panacea – it's not the silver bullet
that will '?x' everything.However, he ?rmly believes that it
CAN be an important part of the solution.
“Here in SA there is more need than any single organisation
could possibly meet. So what we have tried to do is identify
the right kind of IT skills that will empower and enable youth
to learn and work and build their own business. We have
then focused our efforts in those key areas. Our aim is to
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CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW
Photo: Gus Waschefort