Microsoft Donations Power Environmental Education in Romania
Green Revolution is a Bucharest-based nonprofit that focuses on urban environmental education. The organization runs five bike-sharing centers in Romania and also works to persuade Romanian companies to go green.
One of Green Revolution's most exciting programs takes place inside a replica of a spaceship. With the help of two actors and some cutting-edge technology — including computers, a huge LCD monitor, and touch-screen monitors — children learn about ecology and what they can do to help save the Earth and its resources. More than 10,000 kids ages 6 to14 have participated in the program, and more than 5,000 people have joined the project's Facebook page.
Ironically, the space ship is located in a Bucharest park built in the 1970s by the former Communist regime. In those days, children were taught that the Soviet Union was the first country to to land on the moon and other technological myths.
The spaceship program was made possible by donations of Microsoft Windows and Office licenses facilitated by TechSoup's global partner in Romania. Horia Roman, an IT specialist with Green Revolution, says the money the organization saved by getting the software through TechSoup has made a big difference. "It makes no sense at all for an NGO, especially under Romania's current economic situation, to spend lots of money on software. Especially when TechSoup can make this Microsoft technology affordable for an NGO," Roman says.
