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Your Voice is Power Returns to Engage Thousands of Canadian Students in Coding Education Through Music

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Innovative program that blends computer science and social justice education pledges to engage 20,000 Canadian middle and high school students in 2024

Juno Award-Nominated Artist Aysanabee to join student competition judging panel, provide music for curriculum

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2024 /CNW/ – Amazon Future Engineer, Amazon Music and TakingITGlobal are proud to launch the 2024 edition of Your Voice is Power, an educational program and remix competition that teaches computer science and coding skills to middle and high school students using music from Indigenous artists. After reaching more than 15,000 students in 2023, Your Voice is Power has raised the target to more than 20,000 in 2024, as part of its mission to inspire and prepare young people for the careers of the future.

Your Voice is Power is a flagship initiative of Amazon Future Engineer Canada, a computer science and STEM education program that seeks to afford all young people the opportunity to realize their potential.  A June 2023 report from The Dais, a public policy and leadership institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, shows that, according to Statistics Canada, Indigenous Peoples in Canada engage in tech-related employment and industry at only half the rate of people from non-Indigenous communities. By sparking an early interest in STEM education, programs like Your Voice is Power can help students from underrepresented communities build the digital literacy and skills that can lead to transformative technology careers.

“At Amazon, we are committed to empowering children and young adults to learn new skills that will give them more opportunities,” said Cynthia Caglar, Head of Amazon Future Engineer Canada. “There is a strong demand for computer science-related careers, but we know that many Canadians – especially those from underserved backgrounds – risk being left behind. Your Voice is Power gives students and teachers an introduction to coding while demonstrating how music and computer science can be tools to advance social justice, which can help them identify future academic and career possibilities.”

“We’re proud to continue our work with Your Voice Is Power for a third consecutive year, and use music to create and encourage conversation and connection around the Indigenous experience in Canada,” said John Murphy, Head of Music, Canada, Amazon Music. “We’re very grateful for the engagement and participation of artists, teachers, and students in the program, and we can’t wait to hear the new remixes submitted this year.”

The Your Voice is Power curriculum is available at no cost to teachers and students in grades 7 through 12. The curriculum was built by TakingITGlobal with extensive year-long collaborations with the Cloud Innovation Centre at the University of British Columbia (UBC) that involved hundreds of hours of consultation and review. The UBC CIC, which is a private/public collaboration between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and UBC, facilitated connections to Indigenous experts, students and alumni as well as to UBC faculty.

“Your Voice is Power makes it possible for more diverse voices to resonate in a field that is helping shape Canada’s future, but doesn’t currently reflect our society. The program helps young people engage with technology in a way that puts their stories at the forefront and empowers them to apply new skills to share their own unique perspectives on the Indigenous experience,” said Anishinaabe educator Christine M’lot, who led curriculum development on behalf of TakingITGlobal.

The Your Voice is Power lesson plan features eight modules that teach the basics of coding while engaging students in discussions on the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis experience in Canada, including topics like Residential Schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Students can remix music from Indigenous artists such as Jayli Wolf, Dakota Bear, Samian, and Twin Flames using EarSketch, a free online code editor available in English, French, Ojibwe, and Inuktitut. All participants are encouraged to submit their remixes to a competition in which two winners – one Indigenous, one identifying as an ally – will receive $5,000 (CAD) scholarships.

The deadline to submit entries to the 2024 student competition is May 31, 2024, and the winners will be selected in June.

New for 2024, Juno Award-nominated artist Aysanabee will provide music for the Your Voice is Power curriculum, and will also join the student competition judging panel. Aysanabee is an Oji-Cree singer-songwriter who has received three 2024 Juno Award nominations for his album Here and Now, in the categories of Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Alternative Album of the Year.

Amazon Music ‘Your Voice is Power’ Playlist

Amazon Music subscribers in Canada are able to stream an exclusive Your Voice is Power playlist featuring songs by artists including Twin Flames, Jayli Wolf, Dakota Bear, Samian, and many others featured in the program. This playlist features music celebrating themes of perseverance and determination, showcasing foundational moments in music spanning 30+ years of music making.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

For further information: amazon-pr@amazon.com

SOURCE Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services, ULC

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PolyAI partners with OpenTable to offer enterprise restaurants and diners reservation support using voice AI

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LONDON and NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — PolyAI, a pioneer in voice AI solutions for customer experience and service, today announced a partnership with OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, expanding PolyAI’s guest-led voice assistants to enterprise restaurants. Locations that opt in will be able to take reservations over the phone, answer questions, gain visibility in customer trends, and deliver on-brand experiences – all while alleviating staff time and resources.

This alliance delivers PolyAI’s lifelike voice AI to help restaurants tackle challenges around staffing and provide consistent hospitality, even off premise. In a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, 62% of operators said their restaurants did not have enough employees to support existing demand. With onsite staff focused on in-house patrons, restaurant groups routinely miss between 30-60% of phone calls to their front of house (per PolyAI customer data) – meaning missed revenue opportunities and equally valuable customer touch points.

Never miss another call, thanks to PolyAI and OpenTable

With this strategic partnership, OpenTable’s global network of restaurants will be able to integrate PolyAI voice assistants, built using generative AI and spoken language technologies, to assist their diners in seamlessly booking and managing reservations over the phone, during and outside of operating hours.

“We know how tightly restaurants manage their guest experience and this can be even more complex for our partners doing business at scale,” said Susan Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenTable. “We have, and continue to invest in, technology that pushes boundaries and enhances hospitality and our integration with PolyAI is a new way we can drive efficiencies for our restaurants, and diners.”

For larger operators, this partnership enables numerous iterations of voice assistants to cater to the unique needs of multi-location and multi-brand portfolios, while providing PolyAI’s proven enterprise-grade assurances around availability, security and data protection.

“We have extensive experience deploying voice assistants to hundreds of locations for some of the largest restaurant groups in the world, helping operators resolve up to 70% of calls over the phone without the need for additional staff,” said Michael Chen, VP of Strategic Alliances at PolyAI. “This strong connection with the restaurant industry started right from the earliest days of PolyAI. We’re thrilled to deepen that further and work with OpenTable to help even more restaurant operators attract more diners, streamline operations and maximise revenue.”

The journey starts at the Integration Marketplace

OpenTable restaurants will be able to request an integration with PolyAI via its Integration Marketplace, which powers 150+ integrations among the most widely used restaurant software. Beyond managing reservations over the phone, PolyAI’s guest-led voice assistants also offer operators a powerful new channel for implementing consistent brand experiences that can deliver greater personalisation, more proactive revenue and upsell as well as offer new ways of collecting diner feedback and tracking customer satisfaction.

About PolyAI

PolyAI is a leading provider of AI-powered voice assistants. Their customer-led voice assistants are used across industries within global companies where B2C conversations are crucial, like Whitbread, Greene King, Caesars Entertainment and FedEx. PolyAI’s award-winning voice assistants have earned renown for their ability to understand natural language and provide quick, accurate and helpful responses. Hear more about what they’re bringing to the market by visiting poly.ai

About OpenTable

OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), helps more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide fill 1.7 billion seats a year.  OpenTable’s world-class technology empowers restaurants to focus on what matters most – their team, their guests, and their bottom line – while enabling diners to discover and book the perfect restaurant for every occasion.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/polyai-partners-with-opentable-to-offer-enterprise-restaurants-and-diners-reservation-support-using-voice-ai-302254622.html

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VeriPark Receives Microsoft Business Applications 2024/2025 Inner Circle Award and Joins Partner Advisory Council

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LONDON, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — VeriPark, a Microsoft Solutions Partner in the Financial Services Industry, has been selected for the Business Applications 2024-2025 Microsoft Inner Circle and the Microsoft Financial Services Partner Advisory Council.

Participation within Inner Circle is based on sales achievements that rank VeriPark in the top echelon of Microsoft’s Business Applications global network of partners. Inner Circle members are known for performing at a high-level by delivering innovative solutions that help organizations excel.

Ozkan Erener, CEO VeriPark: “We are honored to once again be recognized by Microsoft for our commitment to driving digital transformation for our clients. Partnering closely with Microsoft allows us to harness the latest technologies to revolutionize the Financial Services Industry. This recognition highlights the success of our collaborative strategy and execution.”

VeriPark first joined Microsoft’s Inner Circle in 2011 and has since provided innovative solutions that help financial institutions achieve a competitive advantage. By leveraging Microsoft’s platform, VeriPark continues to offer unparalleled services and solutions to its clients.

“Partners achieving the Inner Circle demonstrate an exceptional impact helping customers accelerate their AI and digital transformation with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform,” said Peter Jensen, Microsoft Business Application Partner Strategy Lead. “Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program partners who achieve the Business Application Inner Circle distinction stand out for their deep AI, Cloud and Industry knowledge.”

Additionally, VeriPark’s selection for the Financial Services Partner Advisory Council highlights its role in shaping Microsoft’s financial services strategies and product roadmaps. As a PAC member, VeriPark will provide feedback on Microsoft’s financial services solutions and gain early insights into future roadmaps.

About VeriPark 

VeriPark is a global solutions provider enabling financial institutions to become digital leaders by placing Customer Experience at the core of digital transformation. VeriPark’s Intelligent Customer Experience suite delivers world class customer journeys on digital and assisted channels.

With its main offices located in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, VeriPark helps financial institutions to enhance customer acquisition, retention and cross-sell capabilities. Their proven, secure, and scalable solutions cover Customer Engagement, Omni-Channel Delivery, Branch Automation, and Loan Origination. VeriPark collaborates with clients, crafting innovative technology strategies and solutions, that impact millions of people daily, bringing the promise of digital transformation to life.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/veripark-receives-microsoft-business-applications-20242025-inner-circle-award-and-joins-partner-advisory-council-302253197.html

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Huawei Updates FTTO 2.0 and Releases New Scenario-based Products, Driving Campus Networks to Wi-Fi 7 Era

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — During HUAWEI CONNECT 2024, Huawei updated fiber to the office (FTTO) 2.0 and launched a series of new scenario-based products for industries such as education, healthcare, and hospitality. The next-generation green 10G all-optical network oriented to Wi-Fi 7 accelerates fiber-in copper-out and contributes to campus intelligence.

“In the Wi-Fi 7 era, Fiber-in Copper-out is a must for campus networks, and FTTO 2.0 commercial use is accelerating. Huawei is willing to work with customers and partners to seize opportunities in optical business, achieving a win-win future for campus intelligence.” noted Gavin Gu, President of Enterprise Optical Business Domain, Huawei.

Huawei’s FTTO 2.0 solution achieves a simplified architecture with the number of network layers cut from three to two, active to passive transition, 30% lower energy consumption, and 80% less cabling. Based on XGS-PON Pro and Wi-Fi 7 technologies, this solution supports 12.5G/25Gbps to rooms, 10Gbps to APs, and 2.5Gbps to desktops. The hard slicing technology enables multiple services to be carried over one network, reducing the TCO by 30%. This helps enterprises build green, ultra-broadband, and simplified campus networks.

At the session, Huawei released a selection of FTTO 2.0 products for various scenarios and industries.

In the education industry, Huawei launched the industry’s first high-density ultra-10G optical terminal Huawei OptiXstar P884E for smart classrooms. Meeting the requirements of high-density and high-bandwidth access scenarios, this product implements 12.5G/25Gbps to classrooms and 2.5Gbps to desktops. For dormitories, Huawei launched the industry’s first 8-port Wi-Fi 7 optical AP OptiXstar W617E, which supports unified wired and wireless access for a room with 8 students. For education metro networks, Huawei launched the edge optical gateway Huawei OptiXstar E853E. Supporting remote PON port deployment, closed-loop local service forwarding, and flexible configuration, the Huawei OptiXstar E853E meets the access requirements of all services in campuses such as primary schools and kindergartens.

For hospital wards, Huawei launched the industry’s first 10G ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi 7 optical AP Huawei OptiXstar W817C, whose seamless roaming technology enables mobile ward rounds.

For hotels, Huawei launched the next-generation three-in-one Wi-Fi 7 optical AP Huawei OptiXstar W827E-3, which supports unified access of wired, wireless, and telephone services so that one ONT can carry all services in each guest room over one fiber. In this way, it provides ultimate Wi-Fi 7 network experience at a lower cost and improves the positive feedback rate of guests.

For factory workshops, Huawei launched the small-sized industrial optical terminal Huawei OptiXstar T602E, which supports guide rail installation and fiber to the machine without extra cabinets, allowing for flexible capacity expansion. By helping to build a reliable and flexible advanced industrial network for smart factories, the product improves the quality and efficiency of factory production.

Huawei’s FTTO solution has been put into commercial use in more than 9000 campuses around the world. In addition, Huawei’s 50G POL solution that supports hard slicing has also been put into commercial use.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/huawei-updates-ftto-2-0-and-releases-new-scenario-based-products-driving-campus-networks-to-wi-fi-7-era-302255376.html

SOURCE Huawei

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