Communities Empowered Across Borders with CivilTech
The Carpathian region is a vast area in Europe that comprises parts of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Romania. The region is dotted with rural communities and settlements that are largely marginalized from the larger society of their respective countries. Krptok Nemzetkzi Alaptvny, or Carpathian Foundation International, is a non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development of communities in this region, fosters the development of regional resources, strengthens participatory democracy, and facilitates cross-border and cross-sector cooperation among settlements and civil society organizations within the region.
The foundation strives to achieve these goals through a number of programs, including promotion of community empowerment, citizen participation projects, technical assistance with grant applications, promotion of culture, environmental conservation, and an equal opportunities scholarship program.
How is it possible for the foundation's small staff of five to handle so many projects in so many communities? The answer is easy. It's because of the donation of Microsoft Small Business Server R2, Expression Web 1.0, Office Professional, and Project Professional software, all courtesy of the CivilTech Program from the NIOK Foundation, a member of the TechSoup Global Network. With these donations, staff can work on documents created on the same version of Office software, and collaboration is enhanced with documents made accessible to everyone.
