Microsoft Canada CTS grants are awarded to community organizations that focus on providing access to technology skills training in underserved communities. Popular with youth, digital arts programs funnel creativity into cutting-edge areas of technology such as gaming, animation and new media, while providing essential skills in digital literacy. Through CTS grants organizations gain access to the latest technologies to train students and lifelong learners. Worldwide, the CTS program helps over a quarter-billion people to access the technology and skills training necessary to get jobs.

Canadian CTS grants have been awarded to:

• JobStart in Toronto (Read the press release here or click here to read Heather Sant's story.)
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (Read more about the grant here or click here to read Lynne Cyr's story.)
• Toronto's Frontier College's Beat the Street Program (Read the press release here.)
• The Manitoba E-Association (Read the press release here.)
• the LOCUS project in Vancouver
• Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre (Read the press release here.)

Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre

Microsoft Canada spearheaded and launched the Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre in conjunction with a broad coalition including the City of Toronto, Humber College, the Humber Students' Federation, Toronto Community Housing and the YMCA of Greater Toronto.

The Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre is located in one of Toronto's "priority neighbourhoods," and provides youth with free access to state-of-the-art technology. The centre introduces youth to careers in technology and new media while providing computer literacy skills through a media arts program. Participants are encouraged to further develop their skills through access to education and technology.

In 2008, 17-year-old area resident Ivan Kitzito was one of 10 winners of the City of Toronto's Mobile City photojournalism contest aimed at urban youth in Toronto. Ivan's work is inspired by the urban landscape, incorporating graffiti into Toronto landmarks. He gained an interest in digital arts while attending the Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre.

The Centre has attracted over 900 members and 6,500 visits since it opened and the dedicated staff has coordinated over 300 programs, workshops and training sessions. The idea is to create as many 'Ivans' as possible, hopefully inspiring area youth to pursue a career in a technology related field.

Watch a video interview with Eric Burton, Director of National Programs, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, below.

JobStart

Watch a video interview with Heather Sant, Executive Director, JobStart, below.

Comments

Microsoft Canada Co. wrote re: Unlimited Potential: Community Technology Skills (CTS) Program

on 03-17-2009 10:56 AM

I just came across Toronto’s Mosaic: Voices of the Future – a series in which the CBC gave youth from Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods an opportunity to learn about journalism and then film and produce their own stories.  Some of the youth involved in this project are from the Rexdale Pro Tech Media Centre.

I’d like to congratulate the CBC on this great initiative. It’s fantastic to see other organizations partnering to provide these youth with access to technology and education while exposing them to potential careers in media – it’s exactly what we had in mind when we launched the Centre.

You can watch CBC reporter Debbie Lightle-Quan’s story and interviews with the youth here. To see videos from Toronto’s Francophone community visit Toronto, la mosaïque.

Gavin Thompson,

Director of Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft Canada

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Ken McKenzie wrote re: Unlimited Potential: Community Technology Skills (CTS) Program

on 12-21-2009 11:31 AM

Hello I volunteer with three other people teaching Windows and general computer basics to seniors in Surrey, BC. Right now we are using four old PCs running Windows XP. Many of the seniors coming to our classes now have desktop or laptops running Vista or Windows7. We are starting to feel the lack of training PCs running Vista or Windows7. We recently started charging $20 for the 10 two hour lessons. We will use this to buy newer PCs. But...we need help. How can Microsoft help us? Help with software, help with teaching guides or teaching aids would be wonderful. When a senior starts to see "what's out there" on the Internet it's amazing to see there reaction. A senior who has cooked all her life is simply speechless when they see a site like allrecipes.com. :-) Thank you for any help you can give us. Ken ps. We have a months of students backlogged waiting for the course.

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