Bill Gates to seal Unesco partnership

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates will sign a co-operation agreement with Unesco today to improve access to computers, the Internet and IT training in developing countries.

The Microsoft co-founder and Koichiro Matsuura, head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, will sign the deal at a meeting in Paris, Unesco said in a statement.

Under the agreement, described by Matsuura as an opportunity to “bridge the digital divide,” Microsoft and UNESCO will work together to increase computer literacy in poorer countries and its contribution to economic development.

The program will also focus on training teachers and other professionals to use computers and online resources to share information.

The Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft already offers IT educational programs under its Partners in Learning and Unlimited Potential initiatives.

The Unesco agreement comes at a time when the world’s largest software provider is facing a growing challenge to its Windows operating systems from Linux and other “open source” alternatives – so called because their underlying code is freely shared.

The German city of Munich last year announced a switch to Linux-based software, and Paris City Hall said last month it planned to phase in more open source systems. Similar public-sector efforts are underway in other countries including China, Japan, South Korea and Brazil.

After the Unesco meeting, Gates is due to meet Jacques Chirac, the French president’s office said.

Chirac spokesman Jerome Bonnafont said the two men would discuss development issues including the fight against Aids in Africa and the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the billionaire’s philanthropic organisation.

The foundation’s endowment currently stands at about $30bn (€23bn) after Gates handed over some $3bn (€2.3bn) he earned from a one-off dividend paid out to Microsoft shareholders in July.