MONTREAL, June 28, 2019 /CNW/ -- Today at the
Indigenous Technology Summit, BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX:
BB) announced it is helping Indigenous communities across
Canada deploy new technologies
with a view to improving their overall well-being from a health,
education, safety and economic development standpoint.
Working collaboratively with Forrest
Green and Microsoft, the companies will bring a
comprehensive mix of next-generation secure communication,
cybersecurity, cloud, AI and ML technologies to Chiefs and Grand
Chiefs across Canada – providing
them with valuable tools for making better, data-driven decisions.
The three parties will also enable residents to take part in
skills-based education programs, so they are well-positioned to
participate in the digital economy.
"This is nation-building in action," commented Joseph Norton, Grand Chief, Mohawk Council of
Kahnawá:ke. "BlackBerry has the most secure CPaaS communications
infrastructure in the world and, when coupled with Microsoft's
world class cloud and analytics solutions and Forrest Green's critical systems integrations
efforts, First Nations will have the technological tools necessary
to manage their communities and ensure the well-being of their
people – a significant step towards self-governance. First Nations
need to own, control, and possess their own data and communications
systems in order to create vibrant, self-sustaining
communities."
"Effective community leadership requires both secure
communications and access to accurate data to make decisions,
allocate funding, and ultimately solve problems," said Charles Eagan, Chief Technology Officer,
BlackBerry. "We're proud to provide the Indigenous community with
BlackBerry's secure IoT communications and industry-leading AI
expertise that will provide the security and privacy First Nations
can trust."
Taking place at the Mount Royal Club in Montreal, the Indigenous Technology Summit is
playing host to more than 15 First Nations Chiefs, the Métis
National Council, dozens of Indigenous entrepreneurs, and senior
level federal government executives. The summit will feature
Indigenous representation from coast-to-coast-to-coast including
the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Northwest Territory), Mustimuhw
Information Solutions (Vancouver Island), the Mohawk Council of
Kahnawà:ke (Quebec) and the
Atlantic Policy Congress (Dartmouth, Nova
Scotia), all of whom are on hand to discuss how to achieve
Canada's recent commitment to
spend $1 billion with Indigenous
controlled businesses by 2023, a 17 fold increase on the
$60 million/year the federal
government currently allocates. The single fastest growing vertical
for federal government spend is in the information technologies /
knowledge economy.
About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) is a
trusted security software and services company that provides
enterprises and governments with the technology they need to secure
the Internet of Things. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company is unwavering
in its commitment to safety, cybersecurity and data privacy, and
leads in key areas such as artificial intelligence, endpoint
security and management, encryption and embedded systems. For more
information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.
Media Contact:
BlackBerry Media Relations
(519) 597-7273
mediarelations@BlackBerry.com
Investor Contact:
BlackBerry Investor Relations
(519) 888-7465
investor_relations@BlackBerry.com
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SOURCE BlackBerry Limited