Name of Company	IBM Philippines
Name of Program / Project	KidSmart Early Learning Program
Nomination (category)	Support and Improvement of Education
Country	Philippines

Company Profile:

From a company that distributed products as butcher weighing scales and time clocks, IBM evolved into being the single biggest information technology company in the world today in terms of product line, revenue and workforce. Through the years, it has become the leading supplier of information technology hardware, software and services in the country, and transformed itself into one of the top 500 corporations of the Philippines.

Nomination Profile:

The IBM KidSmart Early Learning Program recognizes the need to bridge the digital divide among millions of young Filipinos while improving the skills of teachers in the area of information technology. By introducing the use of information technology in the school curriculum, KidSmart capitalizes on the natural inquisitiveness and curiosity of children aged 4-9, thereby nurturing their innate liking for learning and discovery.

After only three years since it was launched in the Philippines by IBM and EduQuest, KidSmart now supports 44 institutions throughout the country, providing 230 early childhood teachers and facilitators an awareness of new pedagogical approaches for the intellectual development of young children. Through its nationwide outreach, the KidSmart program has taught more than 10,000 children how to use the Young Explorer personal computer as a learning tool. This does not count over 250,000 children exposed to the Young Explorer technology through museum visits and activities.

The uniqueness of the KidSmart program is due in part to the fact that it relies on the volunteer efforts of IBM employees themselves for its implementation. To date, IBMers have spent over 400 volunteer hours on the project. The media has also covered the program extensively, generating over 140 published articles and broadcast exposures on a nationwide scale.