Polycom,
Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in open standards-based unified
communications (UC) today announced a series of inspirational charity
events with Right To Play, including hosting a face-to-face live video
conversation between Rwandan children and world-class athletes, to be
held at its London Executive Experience Center (EEC) on Aug. 2. All the
events are designed to reflect this summer’s focus on excellence in
sport, and extending the theme beyond the U.K. through the use of HD
video collaboration solutions to young people across the globe.
As an extension to its already existing
philanthropic relationship with humanitarian organization Right
To Play, Polycom will connect Right To Play Athlete Ambassadors in
London with children in Rwanda. Using Polycom video solutions, athletes
such as Canadian cyclist Clara Hughes, an Olympic gold medalist, will
talk to children affected by war, poverty, and disease to share their
passion for sport and to serve as an inspiration for children in
challenging surroundings. The purpose of the dialogue is to inspire and
encourage the potential of each child by having them see and hear
directly from world-class professional athletes about their successes,
learn how they overcame obstacles, and what they are doing today to
support fairness and team play.
“Besides just the enjoyment sports can give, and even the distraction it
can provide in areas that are marked by war and other adverse
conditions, sports can help develop leadership skills and teamwork,”
said Johann Olav Koss, Right To Play founder and a four-time Olympic
gold medalist. “We use the power of sports and play to change the lives
of children around the world, and our partnership with Polycom will
enable us to reach even more children through the use of video
collaboration. In addition to the strong partnership we announced
earlier this year, Right To Play and Polycom will help spread the spirit
of this summer of sports across the world, and create a real and
meaningful impact for children who will have a chance to speak with
elite athletes.”
“Video collaboration significantly amplifies the impact of Right To Play
programs and provides an option that simply didn’t exist before,” said
Gary Rider, President EMEA, Polycom. “Our partnership with Right To Play
reflects Polycom’s commitment to bringing people together through the
power of visual collaboration and aligns with our vision to make video
collaboration ubiquitous in a more connected world."
Polycom and Right To Play will also host an ‘Opening Ceremony
Celebration’ in London on July 27 to kick-start the summer activities
planned. Skeleton-sledging champions and Athlete Ambassadors Shelly
Rudman and Kristian Bromley will attend the event and host a silent
auction in support of the cause. Furthermore, Polycom will also
facilitate exclusive live events at its London EEC for individual Right
To Play supporters. Founded in 2000, the organization that promotes the
power of sport and play for development, health, and peace, is expected
to surpass more than one million children participating weekly in Right
To Play programs by the end of 2012.
Additional activities include:
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Polycom will make its EEC facilities, including its state of the art
video collaboration at Liverpool Street, available to the press. With
prior registration journalists are able to use Polycom’s immersive
video collaboration rooms and various enterprise-grade video
conferencing solutions free of charge (availability permitting).
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A ‘Surviving
summer 2012 – Flexible working eKit’ is available, and provides
useful tips on how to work efficiently from home and on the go. As
many businesses in and around London are preparing for the events with
a move towards more flexible working initiatives, this shift is likely
to lay the foundation for a greater distribution of the UK workforce.
Polycom Partnership with Right to Play
Polycom
formed a philanthropic partnership with Right To Play in April 2012.
As part of the partnership, Polycom is donating a variety of video
solutions including Polycom®
RealPresence® Room systems for Right To Play's headquarters and
national offices, and Polycom®
RealPresence® Mobile for remote staff members, local coaches, and
community-based volunteers. A key application of video implementation is
to enable staff at Right To Play's Toronto headquarters and its regional
offices to train coaches and other community volunteers in countries
such as Ghana, Ethiopia, China, Peru, and Jordan. Though thousands of
miles apart, they will be connected face-to-face with the life-like
visual and audio clarity of Polycom video. The live video training
sessions will teach in-country coaches how to lead and implement Right
To Play programs in their communities. In addition to training more
local coaches, the video solution will help improve communications and
collaboration between Right To Play staff members, and enable the
organization to handle complex conversations and issues across
continents more swiftly through face-to-face discussion. Also, to give
donors a better understanding of how they are helping the organization,
Right To Play will use Polycom’s mobile video application for virtual
donor visits.
Notes to editors:
Polycom invites members of the press to join the ‘Opening Ceremony
Celebration’ on July 27 at its EEC in London to enjoy an eagle-eye view
of the stadium. Please RSVP at Sarah.Brambley@polycom.com.
Polycom Foundation is a global philanthropic and community relations
program that donates Polycom video and voice collaboration technology,
and gives financial support to charities worldwide. Polycom Foundation
partners with Global Nomads Group, Medical Missions for Children, Right
To Play, and several other programs that support positive changes in
education, healthcare and local communities. Through video
collaboration, Global Nomads Group has linked more than 1 million youth
across 45 nations, and Medical Missions for Children has helped more
than 45,000 children by connecting over 700 doctors. Right To Play uses
video to improve global communications, connect teachers, coaches, and
community leaders with staff globally, and directly link donors to see
the impact of their support. Visit www.polycom.com/company/about_us/polycom_foundation.
About Polycom
Polycom is the global leader in open standards-based unified
communications (UC) solutions for telepresence,
video,
and voice powered by the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform. The
RealPresence Platform interoperates with the broadest range of business,
mobile, and social applications and devices. More than 400,000
organizations trust Polycom solutions to collaborate and meet
face-to-face from any location for more productive and effective
engagement with colleagues, partners, customers, specialists, and
prospects. Polycom, together with its broad partner ecosystem, provides
customers with the best total cost of ownership, interoperability,
scalability, and security for video collaboration, whether on-premises,
hosted, or cloud-delivered. Visit www.polycom.com
or connect with Polycom on Twitter,
Facebook,
and LinkedIn.
About Right To Play
Right To Play is a global organization that uses the transformative
power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity. Through
playing sports and games, Right To Play helps children in more than 20
countries to build essential life skills and better futures, while
driving lasting social change. Founded in 2000 by four-time Olympic gold
medallist and social entrepreneur Johann Olav Koss, Right To Play is
headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has national offices in Canada, the
Netherlands, Norway Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. Our programs are facilitated by 590 international staff and
nearly 12,000 volunteer Coaches. Visit us at www.righttoplay.org.uk.
Registered Charity Number: 1112404.
© 2012 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom logo,
and the names and marks associated with Polycom’s products are
trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered
and/or common law marks in the United States and various other
countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
