Microsoft and the government of Panama signed an alliance to promote inclusive development and close the connectivity gap that exists in the Central American country.
The president of Panama Laurentino Cortizo signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft. The document seeks to strengthen the technological capabilities of public education students and teachers in Panama. Among the objectives of the document, the commitment to bring the Internet connection to remote areas and accelerate the digital transformation of the State stands out.
In addition to the president of Panama, the general manager of Microsoft for Central America, Daniel Verswyvel, was present at the event. The Minister of Education Maruja Gorday and the Director of the Government Innovation Authority Luis Oliva were also there. Members of the United States Embassy were at the ceremony, such as the manager of Microsoft Panama and the regional director of corporate and legal affairs of the company.
How will Microsoft support the government of Panama with this agreement?
With the agreement signed with the government of Panama, Microsoft will promote the use of technology to stimulate social development, innovation, education, and productivity in the country. The main objective will be to improve the quality of life of the Panamanian population.
The agreement will serve as a plan to give attention to the sectors of the greatest importance for the economic reactivation that the country requires.
The technological advancement of the country, in its many and diverse aspects, is one of the fundamental purposes of our government
Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama
In the words of the president of Panama, the alliance with Microsoft represents for the country a significant step for technological advancement by promoting all levels of development.
The Microsoft manager for Central America highlighted the importance of this memorandum to overcome the current situation. He also highlighted that technological transformation facilitates the provision of services to citizens while strengthening institutions.
The Four Pillars of the Memorandum of Understanding
The Memorandum signed by Microsoft and the government of Panama focuses on four main points:
- Education for the future and development of digital skills: In Panama, only 18% of workers have skills that enhance digital transformation. Microsoft will cooperate with the government to train the talent required by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To do this, these are the actions you will take:
- Microsoft and the government of Panama will cooperate to include knowledge of programming, robotics, and computer science in the school curriculum.
- The 50 K teachers and 500 K students from the public sector of Panama will have access to Office 365. Also, the Teams platform has already been enabled for free for the entire public education sector in the country.
- Microsoft will offer training to a thousand teachers so that they have the necessary technological knowledge.
- The company will also offer training to Panamanian teams in charge of promoting, implementing, and taking advantage of technological resources and tools to improve access to education.
- Connectivity: Panama has one of the highest levels of connectivity in the region. However, in the country, there are still more than 368 communities and more than one and a half million inhabitants do not have an Internet connection. The agreement will seek to expand Internet access in regions that do not yet have this service.
- eGovernment: With the health emergency, Microsoft and the government of Panama have cooperated for the virtualization of state services. With this experience, the company is committed to the government to implement digital solutions in the sectors of health, financial services, precision agriculture, smart cities, tax recovery, among other services.
- Cybersecurity: Microsoft will collaborate with the government of Panama to improve cybersecurity capabilities. This will mean the improvement of the cybersecurity of the country and a more effective fight against cybercrimes.