On 2 February, 105 participants from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector gathered at Microsoft Korea’s premises in Seoul for the year’s first NGO Cloud Day.
Jointly organised with the Korea Association of Social Workers (KASW), the event aimed to improve work efficiency and encourage stronger collaboration processes among NGOs — under the theme of ‘Smart Work, Smart Collaboration’.
The NGO Cloud Day in Seoul began with key presenters sharing their work and collaboration stories. In her keynote address, Hye Jyung Lee, a Senior Manager at the National Information Society Agency of South Korea, touched on how the country’s smart work policy is impacting local NGOs and nonprofits. Woo Jin Jung, Enterprise Strategy Consultant at Microsoft Korea, introduced how Microsoft’s innovative collaboration technologies have helped NGOs around the world.
Participants then attended a training session conducted by top Microsoft Korea professionals. The topics included the use of Microsoft SkyDrive® to boost work collaboration and a tutorial on OneNote® and OneNote apps for Android and iOS platforms — marking the first time a OneNote learning session has been conducted at a Microsoft Korea NGO Cloud Day event.
It was also fun and games on top of the informative sessions. During lunch Microsoft staff and attendees interacted over an engaging Kinect for Xbox 360TM gaming session. All meals and refreshments served at the NGO Cloud Day were prepared by social enterprises that offer jobs to the disabled.
Overall, the NGO Cloud Day in Seoul was a resounding success and attracted a strong turnout. Many of the participants had registered prior to the event via the KASW’s Facebook page — only a week after the online registration page was launched, there were already 100 registrants and another 100 more on the waiting list. The NGO participants also displayed their positive feedback by leaving notes on the “Orange Wall” at the event.
"I am grateful for having the opportunity to attend Microsoft NGO Cloud Day. Overall, it was a great event that enabled me to learn more about how I can improve work collaboration at our organisation. I would make full use of what I've learned at the event and share the experience with my colleagues," said Eun Joo Lee, from Bugok Social Welfare Centre.
“We are greatly encouraged by the turnout of NGO Cloud Day in Seoul and we hope that more NGOs will participate in the future. This will help spread our organisation’s social efforts more widely across the nation,” Mr Woo concluded.
“We are greatly encouraged by the turnout of NGO Cloud Day in Seoul and we hope that more NGOs will participate in the future. This will help spread our organisation’s social efforts more widely across the nation.”
- Woo Jin Jung, Enterprise Strategy Consultant, Microsoft Korea