Opportunities and partnerships.

• Author: Mor, Maria Liliana
• Position: INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM - Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas

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In 2005, the OAS Trust for the Americas foundation initiated the "Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas" program (POETA) to provide job opportunities to people with disabilities. Just five years later, more than 178,000 people in the hemisphere have benefitted from the program. The original priority of providing training for individuals has been modified to include a greater emphasis on strengthening local institutions and developing economic opportunities for the participants. Together, these elements are paving a way towards new development in the region.

POETA began with the support of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential program in a few community technology centers in Guatemala. Today, 66 POETA centers exist in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries. By the end of 2010, 89 centers will be operating in 20 countries and more than 50 local organizations will be committed to fulfilling the mission and strengthening the program. POETA has also diversified its portfolio of donors in the last five years. While strengthening the relationship with Microsoft as a primary partner and donor, it has also involved fourteen other companies, development agencies, and government organizations as program sponsors. This impressive programmatic and geographic expansion is an example of how the program has evolved exponentially by understanding external dynamics and applying them to local contexts.

Elmer Rozas in Peru and Rodrigo Pérez in Mexico are two good examples of POETA's work. Rozas, 48, participated in POETA trainings in 2005. The program helped him understand the importance of information and communications technology (ICT) and he became a leader in innovation among his colleagues and supervisors at a radio station. In the process he broke with the paradigms associated with his physical disability. Today, Elmer is assistant manager of the municipal office for attention to persons with disabilities in Cuzco and also the general manager of his own advertising company which works in radio, television, written press, and the internet.

Rodrigo Pérez had his first experience working with information and communications technology when he attended a training at a POETA center at the University of La Salle in Mexico City. In spite of initial difficulties due to his visual disability, Pérez stood out as one of the best students in the class, and the knowledge he acquired through the program...