Metamorphosis Foundation, in cooperation with Microsoft’s local office in Tirana organized the Tech4Good conference, which took place on 7 March 2017 and there was wide range of civil society organizations that participated in this event . 
The conference especially focused on helping the civil sector in the process of digital transformation, so that the nonprofit organizations could reach their maximum potential with minimum expenses via the donations offered by Microsoft through the TechSoup Balkans platform.
“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. 
“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” – said the executive director of Metamorphosis Foundation, Bardhyl Jashari.
These donations are available via the TechSoup Balkans program, implemented by Metamorphosis Foundation, which offers wide range of software products for non-profit organizations that can be received for free or by paying a nominal administrative fee. 
“TechSoup is a network of nongovernmental organizations, where various donors, such as Microsoft, help these entities with software donations. At the same time, this contributes in the fight against piracy, which is widespread in countries such as Albania” –said Mr. Jashari.
These donations are available to nonprofits with the status of a Citizens’ Association. Civil sector representatives can also receive Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure donations, that offer many opportunities to organizations so that they can fulfill their mission faster whith the help of these technologies that they can get for free, by paying a fee or by receiving a 5000 USD donation for Microsoft Azure.
With this platform, organizations will increase their productivity, they will reduce expenses and will facilitate the management of IT resources.
“Knowledge of the organizations about these products is poor, such as their knowledge about technologies that can facilitate their work processes” – said Vlora Ademi, Senior Education Business Development Manager, from Microsoft Macedonia. 
During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to hear about the best practices of two civil sector organizations – “Ofiçina” and “Abraham Lincoln Foundation” – which have 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.
Follow this link to view the event’s gallery.
Also you can follow the latest developments on social media through #Tech4Good.
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