Tag Archives: google.org

Google for Mexico: Improving Mexicans’ lives through technology

Mexico is a diverse country in search of opportunities to accelerate development in an inclusive and equitable way. In our first Google for Mexico event this week, we presented new ways to help Mexicans achieve better employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, contribute to society through technological solutions and promote the country’s culture. 

Technology as a source of growth and opportunity

The Internet is boosting local businesses in Mexico, and Google is helping through our search and advertising tools. In 2018, website publishers, nonprofit organizations and more than 40,000 companies generated 47 billion pesos in economic impact throughout the country thanks to digital tools. To learn more about our success stories, you can visit our Economic Impact Report.

Google is helping people acquire and update the necessary skills to apply for a job or to be more effective in the work they already do. With programs like Grow with Google, we’ve trained more than 11,000 people, helping thousands of users in the development of their digital skills throughout the country. We have also launched other digital training projects like Digital Garage, Primer and Women Will, among other initiatives. 

Additionally, we announced that the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, developed by Google and hosted on Coursera, will be translated into Spanish. Google.org is also giving a  $1.1 million USD grant to the International Youth Foundation to offer scholarships to 1,000 young Mexicans, to ensure that underrepresented communities have supported and free access to the course. 

Bringing technology to everyone 

In Mexico, there are currently 74 million people online, and 18 million more are expected to join in the next two years. That's equivalent to almost 20 newly connected people per minute.

In over a year that Google Station has been in operation in Mexico, we have seen millions of people go online and get connected to more information and better opportunities. Google Station’s fast, free and open Wi-Fi is in more than 100 locations throughout the country, with more sites going live in other public places very soon.  

Google's solutions for companies help Mexico promote itself as a great place to do business. That way, society can focus less on economics and more about improving living conditions and anticipating crises before they arrive. With the launch of Android Emergency Location Service (ELS), people will be able to contact emergency services when an emergency call is placed in a supported jurisdiction, even if the user has no mobile data plan or no mobile data credit left.

Strengthening small businesses online

The role of small and medium businesses in the Mexican economy is crucial for employment growth. Currently, less than 50 percent of small and medium sized businesses in the country have digital presences, but Google's solutions can help expand businesses’ opportunities, reduce their operating costs and support them as they reach their consolidation.

Google for Mexico

Dora Velázquez, Flores de Oaxaca owner, used Google My Business to grow her business.

Google My Business is an easy, fast and secure solution for small and medium businesses to start their online business. The Smart Campaigns program can also help small business owners reach new customers with an easy advertising solution which creates ads based on the business' objectives: calls, visits to their stores or visits to their websites. 

Helping Mexicans use the power of their voices 

When we launched the Google Assistant in Mexico two years ago, our goal was to help people get things done throughout the day at home, in the car and on the go—while having a unique understanding of the culture and context. Since then, more Mexicans are turning to the Assistant for help listening to music, playing games and getting answers to questions. The number of active users of the Assistant in Mexico has grown more than eight times since the beginning of 2018. Additionally, Spanish is the third most used Assistant language globally.

Over the coming months, the Assistant will get even more helpful. Mexican users will soon be able to book a ride in Spanish with providers like Cabify, Uber, and Bolt (formerly known as Taxify), order food delivery with Rappi and even transfer money to friends or family using BBVA—with help from their voice.

Google for Mexico

Assistant users in Mexico will soon be able to book a ride in Spanish with providers like Cabify, Uber and Bolt (formerly known as Taxify).

Building smarter cities 

Since 2014, Waze has been working with cities and municipalities around the world to help improve urban mobility. What started with 10 city partners has grown to more than one thousand globally, with 24 partners here in Mexico, including the Mexico City Mobility Department, the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, Jalisco, Monterrey and many others.

Now, all Waze for Cities Data partners can now store data for free via Google Cloud, while accessing best-in-class tools including BigQuery and Data Studio. Cities will be able to easily monitor traffic and transportation events, look at historical trends, assess the before and after effects of interventions and more. 

Municipalities like Querétaro are already leveraging Waze data to make mobility improvements. They recently looked at traffic patterns during peak hours and determined when commercial trucks should enter the city and where they should park. They even re-zoned certain parts of the city. 

A rich heritage, preserved and shared with the world

Mexico’s traditions are colorful and moving, a true expression of the identity of its people. To showcase this cultural heritage, Google Arts & Culture has dedicated a special initiative to capture and share Mexico with the world.

Google for Mexico

This is the first time the Soumaya Museum is digitally presenting its research on the Grana Cochinilla.


Recently, we partnered with one of the most visited museums in the world: the Soumaya Museum. For the first time, it will be possible to visit the museum and view its collection from any device from anywhere in the world. The project showcases more than 700 items encompassing over 30 centuries of art, including one of the world’s largest Auguste Rodin’s collections outside of France. 

The Soumaya Museum has digitized 31 paintings in extremely high resolution using the Art Camera, allowing the user to see details that are not visible with the naked eye. The museum is virtually opening its doors with the use of Museum View technology, which allows anyone, anywhere to admire the architecture of Fernando Romero, at the heart of a new commercial district in Mexico City. 

Google for Mexico

Soumaya Museum, Carlos Slim Foundation, Gallery 6.

Access to information is essential for the growth of countries. At Google, we believe that technology is the fuel to empower Mexico, providing smart solutions for millions of people.

To reduce plastic waste in Indonesia, one startup turns to AI

In Indonesia, plastic waste poses a major challenge. With 50,000 km of coastline and a lack of widespread public awareness of waste management across the archipelago, much of Indonesia’s trash could end up in the ocean. Gringgo Indonesia Foundation has started tackling this problem using technology—and more recently, with a little help from Google. 


Earlier this year, Gringgo was named one of 20 grantees of the Google AI Impact Challenge. In addition to receiving $500,000 of funding from Google.org, Gringgo is part of our Launchpad Accelerator program that gives them guidance and resources to jumpstart their work. 


We sat down with Febriadi Pratama, CTO & co-founder at Gringgo, to find out how this so-called “trash tech start-up” plans to change waste management in Indonesia with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). 

Gringgo Foundation team

The team at Gringgo Indonesia Foundation.

Why is plastic waste such a problem for Indonesia? 
In the past 30 years, Indonesia  has become overwhelmed by plastic waste. Sadly, we haven’t found a solution to deal with this waste across our many islands. 


The topography of Indonesia makes it more challenging to put a price on recyclables. It consists of more than 17,000 islands with 5 major islands, but most recycling facilities are based on the mainland of Java. This makes transporting recyclables from other islands expensive, so materials with low value aren’t sorted and end up polluting the environment.  


To add to the complexity, waste workers often have irregular routes and schedules, leaving many parts of the country unserviced. Workers also don’t always have the knowledge and expertise to accurately identify what can be recycled, and what recycled items are worth. Together, these factors have a devastating impact on recycling rates and the livelihood waste workers.

How are you proposing to address this problem? 
Waste workers’ livelihood depends on the volume and value of the recyclable waste they collect. We realized that giving workers tools to track their collections and productivity could boost their earning power while also helping the environment. 


We came up with the idea to build an image recognition tool that would help improve plastic recycling rates by classifying different materials and giving them a monetary value.  In turn, this will reduce ocean plastic pollution and strengthen waste management in under-resourced communities. We believe this creates a new economic model for waste management that prioritizes people and the planet. 


How does the tool work in practice? 
We launched several  apps in 2017—both for waste workers and the public. One of the apps allows waste workers to track the amount and type of waste they collect. This helps them save time by suggesting a more organized route, and manually quantify their collections and earning potential. Within a year of launching the apps, we were able to improve recycling rates by 35 percent in our first pilot village, Sanur Kaja in Bali.  We also launched an app for the public, connecting people with waste collection services for their homes.


Ussing the Gringgo mobile app

Febriadi Pratama with waste worker, Baidi, using the Gringgo mobile app

Tell us about the role that AI will play in your app? 

With Google’s support, we’re working with Indonesian startup Datanest to build an image recognition tool using Google’s machine learning platform, TensorFlow. The goal is to allow waste workers to better analyze and classify waste items, and quantify their value. 


With AI built into the app, waste workers will be able to take a photo of trash, and through image recognition, the tool will identify the items and their associated value. This will educate waste workers about the market value of materials, help them optimize their operations, and maximize their wages.  Ultimately, this will motivate waste workers to collect and process waste more efficiently, and boost recycling rates. 


So whether it’s a plastic bottle (worth Rp 2,500/kg or 18 cents/kg) or a cereal box (worth Rp 10,000/kg or 71 cents/kg), these new technologies should allow more precious materials to be sorted and reused, thereby removing the guesswork for workers and putting more money in their pockets.


Identifying waste through AI powered image recognition

A mock-up shows how Gringgo thinks the app will be able to identify waste through AI-powered image recognition

What do you aspire to achieve in the next ten years? 

Waste management issues aren’t specific to Bali or to Indonesia. We think our technology has the potential to benefit many people and places around the globe. Our goal is to improve our AI model, make it economically sustainable, and ultimately help implement it across Indonesia, Asia and around the world.


Code with Google helps more students learn to code

Melissa Schonig is a fifth-grade English and Language Arts (ELA) teacher at Lynhaven Elementary School where 40-50 percent of students are Latino, and many don’t have access to computers at home. She didn’t know much about computer science, but wanted her students to get familiar with coding because it can help with other skills, such as critical thinking and collaboration. So she tried a CS First activity where students coded different endings to the story they read in class. Melissa says that, in a short time, “the kids were problem solving, troubleshooting, and helping one another. It was incredible to hear the conversations about coding and the other concepts we were learning in the room.”

Teacher and students in classroom.png

Melissa and her students, learning how to code using CS First, a video-based curriculum for elementary and middle school students.

What Melissa saw in her classroom isn’t unique. 67 percent of teachers believe CS is just as important as other subjects, but many schools don’t offer computer science courses that include programming—and the ones that do are in well-resourced school districts. 

We believe that training, resources, and community for teachers are key to improving equity in CS education and expanding access for all students. Code with Google is our new CS comprehensive resource for educators. It brings together Google’s free curriculum and programs that build coding skills—from beginner level to advanced—to help students succeed. Teachers can integrate CS First into their classroom, guide their high school students to the free code learning app Grasshopper to learn Javascript, or share CS scholarship opportunities with students.

As part of Code with Google, we're extending our commitment to teachers by announcing a $1 million Google.org grant to the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) to support their mission of building community and providing CS professional development to teachers in communities across the U.S. Through CSTA’s national network of chapters, more teachers will have the resources they need to bring CS learning to their students. 

Code with Google is the next step in our ongoing commitment to closing equity gaps in computer science education. With the right tools and resources, more teachers can help their students unlock their potential with code. 


Google volunteers gave me the confidence to get hired

Editor’s note: Every June, Google.org hosts—a month-long campaign called GoogleServe to empower Googlers to volunteer in their communities around the world. This year more than 27,000 Googlers participated in GoogleServe, and Googlers have volunteered a total of X hours since the event first began in 2007. Today we hear from Brian Evans, a past attendee at one of our GoogleServe & Goodwill resume and interview prep events. 


In June 2018, I was just out of prison. I was looking for a job, but I had a criminal record hanging over my head. I did my time in the eyes of the state and had served my sentence, but others don’t always see it that way. Employers often have a bias against people like me. I needed work, but wasn’t getting it.  


I found Goodwill NOW, a program that works with people who have criminal histories to help them find full-time employment. People with the program suggested I sign up for a GoogleServe event, where Googlers were going to help with resume building and interview practice. 


I remember walking into the event. I was really nervous. I didn’t think it was a group I could fit in with—a bunch of highly educated people who had tech jobs with Google. But my perspective changed soon after I arrived. They started the event with an “ice breaker” where we were invited to simply get to know each other. I asked things like where they were from, what they do in their free time, what they care about. It made them human and relatable. After the ice breaker it didn’t feel as intimidating. It just felt like a bunch of people in a room, with more commonalities than we all knew at the start. 


Then we got to work. We sat down with Googlers and learned about what they were looking for in a resume. Many of us didn’t have a college education and feel that it really sets us back, but the volunteers were able to help us break down our experience and highlight what things stood out to them. Your resume is your first impression, so it really helped to have someone coach us on how to make it stronger and highlight what they found interesting about us. 


Next, we did mock interviews. We pretended as if we were going in to interview at Google. We learned about the handshake, how to make eye contact and how to make a good first impression. We learned about the kinds of questions we should be prepared to answer and what kinds of questions we should be prepared to ask. Before the clinic I didn’t know how important it was to ask the interviewer questions, too. 


After the clinic, I felt inspired. So I signed up for school and studied peer mentorship and criminal justice. Goodwill was impressed by my education pursuit and they invited me to apply to be a resource room coordinator. Before getting the job I had to interview with the VP of Goodwill. Never in my life have I been put in front of someone with so much power. Then I remembered what a Google volunteer said: “Just find a way to relate to your interviewer; find something in common.” 


They hired me. Since then, I’ve been promoted twice in one year and I’m now the lead peer mentor. This year, I helped to organize the same GoogleServe event that helped me when I was looking for a job. 


We can all succeed if we have ambition. I didn’t have schooling and lots of Googlers do, but the most inspiring thing a Google volunteer told me is that I had a chance. I believed them and put one foot in front of the other, made it through school and went into the interview with confidence. And here I am.


How Google volunteers gave me the confidence to get hired

Editor’s note: Every June, Google.org hosts a month-long campaign called GoogleServe to empower Googlers to volunteer in their communities around the world. This year, more than 27,000 Googlers participated in GoogleServe, and Googlers have volunteered over 350,00 hours since the campaign first began in 2007. Today we hear from Brian Evans, a past attendee at one of our GoogleServe & Goodwill resume and interview prep events. 

In June 2018, I was just out of prison. I was looking for a job, but I had a criminal record hanging over my head. I did my time in the eyes of the state and had served my sentence, but others don’t always see it that way. Employers often have a bias against people like me. I needed work, but wasn’t getting it.  

I found Goodwill NOW, a program that works with people who have criminal histories to help them find full-time employment. People with the program suggested I sign up for a GoogleServe event, where Googlers were going to help with resume building and interview practice. 

I remember walking into the event. I was really nervous. I didn’t think it was a group I could fit in with—a bunch of highly educated people who had tech jobs with Google. But my perspective changed soon after I arrived. They started the event with an “ice breaker” where we were invited to simply get to know each other. I asked things like where they were from, what they do in their free time, what they care about. It made them human and relatable. After the ice breaker it didn’t feel as intimidating. It just felt like a bunch of people in a room, with more commonalities than we all knew at the start. 

Then we got to work. We sat down with Googlers and learned about what they were looking for in a resume. Many of us didn’t have a college education and feel that it really sets us back, but the volunteers were able to help us break down our experience and highlight what things stood out to them. Your resume is your first impression, so it really helped to have someone coach us on how to make it stronger and highlight what they found interesting about us. 

Next, we did mock interviews. We pretended as if we were going in to interview at Google. We learned about the handshake, how to make eye contact and how to make a good first impression. We learned about the kinds of questions we should be prepared to answer and what kinds of questions we should be prepared to ask. Before the clinic I didn’t know how important it was to ask the interviewer questions, too. 

After the clinic, I felt inspired. So I signed up for school and studied peer mentorship and criminal justice. Goodwill was impressed by my education pursuit and they invited me to apply to be a resource room coordinator. Before getting the job I had to interview with the VP of Goodwill. Never in my life have I been put in front of someone with so much power. Then I remembered what a Google volunteer said: “Just find a way to relate to your interviewer; find something in common.” 

They hired me. Since then, I’ve been promoted twice in one year and I’m now the lead peer mentor. This year, I helped to organize the same GoogleServe event that helped me when I was looking for a job. 

We can all succeed if we have ambition. I didn’t have schooling and lots of Googlers do, but the most inspiring thing a Google volunteer told me is that I had a chance. I believed them and put one foot in front of the other, made it through school and went into the interview with confidence. And here I am.

Breaking ground in Nevada

I’m a fourth generation Nevadan on both sides of my family. Even though Google is headquartered in California, my work has brought me back to my home state of Nevada far more than I expected. And recently we’ve been getting to know Nevadans in all corners of the state. Last year, I had the chance to kick off Grow with Google in Reno where we held in-person digital skills trainings for hundreds of Nevadans. And last week, our team returned to host more workshops in East Las Vegas and Carson City. Today, I’m back home in Nevada once more to break ground on our newest data center and Google Cloud region. 

Google is growing at a faster rate outside of the Bay Area than in it—and earlier this year, our CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google will invest $13 billion to expand data centers and offices across the United States. Recently, we released plans for expansions in two new offices in Michigan, our data centers in Oklahoma and Texas, and now one in Henderson, Nevada. The new data center facility is a $600 million dollar investment, and will create a number of new jobs in the state. Together with our new cloud region, we’re investing to better support our users and our Cloud customers in Nevada.

Data centers power your searches, store your photos, documents and emails, and help you find the fastest route to your destination. They play a vital role in our global operations—and the communities they’re a part of. And it’s our responsibility to be a helpful presence in those communities by creating opportunities for our neighbors to succeed. In addition to the data center groundbreaking, we’re kicking off a $1 million Google.org Impact Challenge in Nevada. Nonprofits from any part of Nevada can submit their biggest and boldest ideas to create economic opportunities for their communities. A panel of judges will select the top five submissions from local nonprofits, who will each be awarded $175,000 to make their idea a reality. From there, the public will vote to select one of the five to be the “People’s Choice” winner and receive an additional $125,000. 

Nevada holds a special place in my heart, and I’m proud to bring the Google.org Impact Challenge to my home state. As we break ground on our newest data center, we’re not only investing in a facility in Nevada, we are investing in Nevadans in all corners of the state. 

Supporting key education projects on World Refugee Day

Editor's Note: Google.org connects nonprofit innovators with Google resources to solve complex human challenges, and to ensure that everyone can participate in the digital economy. Jacqueline Strecker, Connected Education Officer from UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, shares more about the impact our grants and the programs they support have on refugee communities around the world.

I’m in a crowded classroom in Kakuma, Kenya refugee camp. The temperature outside is hovering just above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), but inside this room it feels much hotter. But I barely notice the heat, because I’m transfixed by the people around me. We’re discussing solutions to problems most people don’t fully understand, and despite the challenges, there’s a sense of optimism. My line of work has allowed me to meet and work with countless individuals with exceptional abilities and exceptional stories. Like Jayson.

Jason

Jayson came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, but he was forced to flee his country and halt his pursuit of post-secondary education. He ended up in Kakuma with his only surviving family member, his younger brother. They have spent six years together in the camp. And though his dreams of working in technology are on hold, he’s pursued this passion in a different way, supporting the education of others as both a secondary school teacher and a trainer at a community youth center in the camp.

Since 2015, Google.org has donated $10 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Learning Equality as part of an effort to provide emergency support and access to vital information and education to refugees. The grants have gone towards supporting promising practices, the development of learning materials and adaptation of technologies that can drive  the delivery of quality education for refugee and students from surrounding areas. As part of this initiative, I worked with Jayson in a design workshop, where we came up with ideas to improve on Kolibri, a free, open-source educational platform developed by Learning Equality for low-resource environments like Kakuma.



WRD 3

Kolibri was specially designed to provide offline access to a digital library of resources, curated from thousands of open educational content providers. With funding from Google.org, and in collaboration with Learning Equality, UNHCR has committed to co-designing and testing different models for Kolibri integration in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Jordan together with a range of partners, and most importantly with refugees and the communities that host them.


The program itself aims for an increase in basic STEM skills in lower-secondary school populations, plus improvement in student confidence and motivation,digital literacy and technical skills. “I’m one part of the project, and it has become a passion for me,” Jayson tells me. “Every day, every month, we are learning and giving feedback on how to improve.”


Jayson was one of 28 passionate contributors from 10 different countries who joined the design sprint facilitated by Astrid Weber, Google UX Manager, at UNESCO’s Mobile Learning Week in Paris this past March. Joining remotely, he and his fellow Kolibri coaches helped to work with educationalists, ministries and designers from across the globe to think through how AI could be used to help improve the process of aligning content to different national curricula.

T

The ideas that emerged are helping to shape ten new learning centers launching throughout communities in Jordan. The model has been adapted thanks to not only the vibrant contributions of both Jordanian and refugee communities throughout the country, but also the inspiration and lessons shared from this growing collaborative global community. 

On World Refugee Day, the High Commissioner for Refugees will help to launch a new Connected Learning Center in the Azraq Refugee Camp, further demonstrating UNHCR’s commitment to improving the quality of education for all learners affected by crises. We all have a role to play. Our inspiring colleagues at Learning Equality continue to share and create free educational resources. Philanthropic efforts, like those of Google.org, help to bring people and resources together to test new solutions in the field. People like Jayson lend expertise and time to making sure Kenyans and refugees alike are able to contribute to and benefit from these global digital movements. And our team at UNHCR helps to promote innovation with the community at the heart and in the lead.

$1 billion for 20,000 Bay Area homes

As we work to build a more helpful Google, we know our responsibility to help starts at home. For us, that means being a good neighbor in the place where it all began over 20 years ago: the San Francisco Bay Area.

Today, Google is one of the Bay Area’s largest employers. Across the region, one issue stands out as particularly urgent and complex: housing. The lack of new supply, combined with the rising cost of living, has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle and low income residents. As Google grows throughout the Bay Area—whether it’s in our home town of Mountain View, in San Francisco, or in our future developments in San Jose and Sunnyvale—we’ve invested in developing housing that meets the needs of these communities. But there’s more to do.

Today we’re announcing an additional $1 billion investment in housing across the Bay Area.

First, over the next 10 years, we’ll repurpose at least $750 million of Google’s land, most of which is currently zoned for office or commercial space, as residential housing. This will enable us to support the development of at least 15,000 new homes at all income levels in the Bay Area, including housing options for middle and low-income families. (By way of comparison, 3,000 total homes were built in the South Bay in 2018). We hope this plays a role in addressing the chronic shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle and low income residents.

Second, we’ll establish a $250 million investment fund so that we can provide incentives to enable developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across the market.

In addition to the increased supply of affordable housing these investments will help create, we will give $50 million in grants through Google.org to nonprofits focused on the issues of homelessness and displacement. This builds on the $18 million in grants we’ve given to help address homelessness over the last five years, including $3 million we gave to the newly openedSF Navigation Center and $1.5 million toaffordable housing for low income veterans and households in Mountain View.

In the coming months, we’ll continue to work with local municipalities to support plans that allow residential developers to build quickly and economically. Our goal is to get housing construction started immediately, and for homes to be available in the next few years. In Mountain View, we’ve already worked with the city to change zoning in the North Bayshore area to free up land for housing, and we’re currently in productive conversations with Sunnyvale and San Jose.

Of course, affordable and quality housing is only one way we’re investing in Bay Area communities. We’re also fundingcommunity spaces that provide free access to co-working areas for nonprofits, improving transit options forthe community and our employees (taking 9,000 cars off the road per day), and supporting programs forcareer development,education andlocal businesses.

Across all of this, our goal is to help communities succeed over the long term, and make sure that everyone has access to opportunity, whether or not they work in tech. Solving a big issue like the housing shortage will take collaboration across business, government and community organizations, and we look forward to working alongside others to make the Bay Area a place where everyone who lives here can thrive.

With 4-H, helping more students learn computer science

As our CEO Sundar Pichai announced today in my home state of Oklahoma, we’re making our largest ever computer science education grant from Google.org to support 4-H, the largest youth development organization in the country. This $6 million grant—made as part of Grow with Google's efforts to ensure that everyone has access to future opportunities—will help provide more than 1 million youth across the country with computer science skills, plus computer science training for their educators.

4-H is a second home for students like Decklan Thomas, a high schooler from Bruceton Mills, West Virginia (population 86). Following three generations in the trucking industry, Decklan was certain that he was on a path to becoming a diesel mechanic. The field was appealing not only because of family tradition, but also because it allowed him to do something he liked: identifying problems and fixing them.

One day, he learned about computer science through his local 4-H chapter. He didn’t even know he was coding at first—it just felt like solving a puzzle on the computer. As he began to do more coding, he quickly saw the parallels between the skills you need to be a mechanic and the computer science he was learning at 4-H. He says, “You see something wrong, then fix it—and end up with something amazing.” Decklan is still enthusiastic about becoming a diesel mechanic, but he’s now also exploring other opportunities like becoming a biomedical engineer or even going into the Navy.

I know the impact of these types of programs because I grew up going to my local 4-H chapter in Oklahoma. I loved learning about animal care, teamwork, and practical farm skills—a hallmark of 4-H. Like Decklan, those skills inspired me to learn how to fix things—I went to the Oklahoma State University and went on to work for Google here in Pryor. And I still fix things: the servers in our data centers that power our internet products for people across the country.


Decklan and I are representative of the many students across the United States who lack access to computer science learning opportunities. It’s estimated that computer science-related jobs are created at nearly four times the rate of other jobs, but students in small towns are less likely to have access to classes and clubs at school compared to suburban students, and their parents are less likely to know about CS opportunities outside of school.


Together with 4-H, we believe in the potential of technology–and youth—to change and improve our lives, industries and communities. Today’s Google.org grant will provide 4-H educators with the resources they need to ensure that students can access the skills they’ll need—both technical and non-technical—to create the technology that may improve our future.

Google for Brazil: expanding access to technology and information

Access is at the core of everything we do at Google, going back to our mission statement. Without access to a decent internet connection or digital skills, people can’t use technology to make their lives easier.

With that in mind, we made a series of announcements today at our annual Google for Brazil event in São Paulo to help Brazilians get more out of the internet, ranging from fast and free Wi-Fi hubs to educational programs. And as part of our commitment to responsible innovation, we also shared how we're building privacy and transparency tools into our products to give people clear, individualized choices around how their data is used.

Google Station arrives in Brazil

Google Station aims to connect people to a fast, free and open internet. We have 80 locations up and running in public squares, parks and train stations across São Paulo already, thanks to our partners America Net and Linktel and our first sponsor, Itaú. We plan to keep working with partners to launch hundreds more Google Station locations across Brazil by the end of 2020.

Google Station

Privacy for everyone

As our technology evolves, so do our privacy protections to ensure that people have control over their data. Today, two new privacy tools went live in Brazil, where people can now use Android phones as security keys, adding an extra layer of protection to their information. They can also check how data is being used in Maps, Search and the Assistant, by accessing the apps menu and choosing the option “Your data in …” There, you can review and delete your location activity in Maps or your search activity in Search. Soon, the same feature will be accessible on YouTube.

Auto-delete controls for Web and Apps Activity are also now available globally, allowing people to easily manage the amount of time their data is saved. Choose a limit—3 or 18 months—and anything older than that will be automatically deleted on an ongoing basis. Auto-delete controls are coming soon to Location History. And Incognito Mode for Maps and Search is coming later this year.

Waa_Rentetion_Flow frame.gif

Strengthening the news ecosystem

To connect people with high-quality information and news, we're working closely with journalists and publishers. Here are three ways we’re helping to fuel innovation in journalism in Brazil and Latin America:

  • Google News Initiative grants will support training programs and events for Brazilian journalism associations, including continued funding for Comprova, a coalition of more than 20 news organizations to combat misinformation online.

  • We put out a call for applications for the first GNI Innovation Challenge in Latin America, an initiative to fund projects that bring new ideas and sustainable business models to digital journalism. We'll fund proposals with up to one million reais. Registration is open until July 22.

  • We’re starting an incubation program for journalism startups, in partnership with Google for Startups Campus São Paulo. The Digital Native News Incubator will support early stage teams with products, tools, and mentorship as they build their organizations.

Voice and helpfulness

Brazilians love using their voices to get things done on their phones. The Assistant in Portuguese has been around for almost two years, and Brazil is already among the top three countries in active users. Brazilians will soon have another way to keep the conversation flowing—local tech company Positivo is set to roll out a smart feature phone running KaiOS, with an Assistant button. It’s an entry-level device that can help you through the day, using voice to search, send messages and much more. Positivo is also introducing a new line of devices like lamps, plugs, cameras and alarms that can be controlled by voice, another example of how the Assistant can serve as the backbone of a smart home.

p70s_pack.png

We’re also partnering with developers and brands to build relevant Actions. One example is Galinha Pintadinha, a popular Brazilian content creator for families, which launched a set of news games that revive our childhood with traditional plays like “freeze dance”. Starting today, experiences like this will also be available on entry-level Android Go phones.

Media literacy, digital skills and more

Navigating the deluge of information online can be challenging. A Google.org grant of 4 million reais is going to Palavra Aberta Institute to create EducaMídia, media literacy program which will help Brazilian teachers and students develop skills to distinguish online misinformation from reliable content.

In addition, a 4.5 million reais grant for Junior Achievement Brazil will fund 2,000 scholarships for the IT Support Professional Certificate, an online training program developed by Google and hosted on Coursera. Through the grant, we will prepare young Brazilians from underrepresented communities to become the next generation of IT Support Specialists, and help connect them with potential local employers upon completion.

Change the Game, a Google Play initiative to support and empower women as game players and creators, is also coming to Brazil. We'll ask women to submit ideas for games, and together with partners we'll help develop and launch two winning projects. We'll also offer training for 500 young women who want to make their mark in the mobile gaming world.

ChangetheGame_Desafio.png

Speaking of games, the Women's World Cup is upon us. Whether you call it soccer, football, futebol or fútbol, you can keep up with all the action in this year's tournament in France using Google tools such as Search and the Assistant.

Last but not least, we pulled back the curtains on a retrospective for one of Brazil's most celebrated artists, Cândido Portinari. After “Faces of Frida,” “Portinari: Painter of the People” is the second-largest collection dedicated to a Latin American artist on Google Arts & Culture.

Mestico_Candido Portinari.png

“Mestiço” (Cândido Portinari - 1934), at Pinacoteca

We feel privileged that people turn to Google for help in their daily lives. We're doing our best to match that trust with responsible innovation that serves people everywhere, wherever they may be.