Metamorphosis Foundation, in cooperation with Microsoft’s local office in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia, organized the Tech4Good conference in Prishtina, Tirana and Skopje. +200 representatives from civil society organisations participated these conferences .

The meetings especially focused on helping the civil sector in the process of digital transformation, so that the nonprofit organisations could reach their maximum potential via the donations offered by Microsoft through the TechSoup Balkans platform. 1 tech4good3-768x512

Albania

The General Manager of Microsoft Albania, Mr. Sokol Vladi and the Executive Director of Metamorphosis Foundation Mr. Bardhyl Jashari, opened the event in Tirana, Albania held on 7 March.

At the keynote, they emphasized that NGOs should no longer consider technology as an obstacle, because they have the opportunity to receive it as a donation through TechSoup Balkans. By using technology, NGOs can benefit from the donated software and cloud solutions to increase their impact and potential and achieve their mission easier at lower cost.

“The aim of the conference is to present the nonprofits in Albania the opportunities that Microsoft offers through the software packages so that they can successfully fulfill their mission and achieve their goals. TechSoup is a network of nongovernmental organizations, where various donors, such as Microsoft, help these entities with software donations. At the same time, this promotes anti-piracy, which is widespread in countries such as Albania” – said Mr. Jashari, Executive Director at Metamorphosis Foundation. 2 tech4good4-768x512“At Microsoft, we believe that nonprofits can achieve much more by using technology in a world where inclusion and access to internet are very important” – said the general director of Microsoft in Albania, Sokol Vladi. 3 tech4good-768x511During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to hear about the best practices of two civil sector organisations – “Ofiçina” and “Abraham Lincoln Foundation” – which have both used the software donations and the cloud services offered via the TechSoup Balkans donations program to facilitate their work. Additionally, nonprofits from Albania shared the challenges they face in their work, and stressed the fact that technology products received through donations has helped them a lot to overcome the financial difficulties and to reduce expenses.

Kosovo

110 representatives of the civil society attended the conference in Prishtina that was held on 22 March. Kujtim Gashi, General Director of Information Society Agency in Kosovo, and Agon Baruti, Business development manager in Microsoft in Kosovo, emphasized that in the era of cloud technology, CSOs must open their doors and start to use these donations if they want to improve their social impact at low or no cost.

“At Information Society Agency, we believe that by using technology, nonprofit organizations can achieve more in a world where inclusion and access to internet are very important. The aim of the conference is to present the nonprofits in Kosovo the opportunities that Microsoft offers through the software, cloud packages so that they can successfully fulfill their mission, and achieve their goals”, said Kujtim Gashi, General Director of Information Society Agency in Kosovo. 4 32972209540_b847c15f54_z

“TechSoup is a network of nongovernmental organizations, where various donors, such as Microsoft, help these entities with software donations. We at Metamorphosis Foundation, help civil society organizations reach their maximum potential and fulfill their mission more efficiently and with less costs by organizing free consultations and offering software donations via the TechSoup Balkans program”, said Adrijana Selmani, Project coordinator for software donations via TechSoup Balkans.

During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to hear about the best practices of two civil sector organizations – “Open Data Kosovo” and “Community Development Fund” – which have used the software donations and the cloud services offered via the TechSoup Balkans donations program to facilitate their work. Additionally, nonprofits from Kosovo shared the challenges they face in their work, and stressed the fact that technology products received through donations has helped them a lot to overcome the financial difficulties and to reduce expenses.

Macedonia

The conference held in Skopje was attended by 78 representatives from the CSO. On this conference that was held on 16 of May, was proven that technology can help a lot to improve the quality of living.

At the event’s opening, Metamorphosis’ Executive Director, Bardhyl Jashari, emphasized that the technology and implementation of new software solutions should help the nongovernmental organisations to organize their missions and activities more efficiently. 5 33447688752_5c34e7ac05_z

Microsoft’s Senior Education Business Development Manager in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, Vlora Ademi, pointed out that this is fourth conference of its kind in Macedonia and such conferences are of great interest to nongovernmental organizations.

“The nongovernmental sector is the main supporter of a great deal of conditions in the society and it has its own mission. The work is challenging and technology allows them to implement their mission more easily”, Ademi added.

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