SAN JOSE, Calif., November 3, 2005 - At a ceremony yesterday in Washington, DC, Cisco's President and CEO John Chambers received the Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on behalf of Cisco's efforts in Jordan for the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI).
The ACE, the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence, was established by the State Department in 1999, and recognizes the important role U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate citizens.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Cisco for its exemplary corporate citizenship in Jordan through its commitment to the education of Jordan's youth--particularly in the fields of math and technology. At the ceremony, she stated that Cisco "understands that education is the key to success and prosperity for all developing countries." The JEI is building the backbone for an Internet network linked to 100 schools, partnering to create a multimedia e-mathematics curriculum and 12 Cisco Academies that train young men and women in information technology. The JEI is enabling Jordan's Discovery Schools program to be a model for network-based curriculum reform affecting 50,000 students and 2,300 teachers within Jordan.
U.S. companies are nominated by Chiefs of Mission for the ACE and the winners are chosen by the Award Selection Committee, chaired by Under Secretary of State Shiner, and include Under Secretary of State Fore, and senior officials from the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs; the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Department of Commerce.
Cisco works with its JEI partners, including business, government, international organizations and community organizations, to prepare program graduates for a broad range of networking and IT related jobs in the public and private sectors, as well as continuing education in engineering, computer science and related fields. The program also helps ensure students are prepared for the demands of the workplace and motivated to continue their education and learning.
"We are honored to have received the ACE Award for our JEI program. An immediate priority for Jordan is to build a knowledge-based economy that will enable citizens to become entrepreneurs and participate in the information communications technology industry," said Cisco President and CEO John Chambers. "The mission of the Jordan Education Initiative is to create a model for effective Internet-enabled learning that can be replicated and implemented in other countries in the region-and worldwide."
Recently, Cisco also announced the "21S"initiative, a long- term education initiative, for rebuilding schools in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast region of United States. The first phase of 21S begins in Mississippi with the Mississippi Education Initiative. More information on 21S and the MEI can be found at: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/hd_102505.html
The JEI and the MEI were born out of the online education experience gleaned from Cisco's Networking Academy program which was launched in 1997. The Cisco Network Academy Program delivers web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on-labs, instructor training and support, and preparation for industry standard certifications. From the beginning Cisco placed special emphasis on bringing the program to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through its work with the United Nations Development Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Cisco has made the program available to students in the Least Developed Countries to assist with building their country's economies. In the U. S., Academies have been established in designated Empowerment Zones and Minority-Serving institutions to address pervasive poverty and economic distress through education. For more information on the Networking Academy program visit www.cisco.com/edu/academy.
