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Telstra Joins Telco Together Foundation: Industry Collaboration for Social Good

Announcement posted by Telco Together Foundation 08 Apr 2014

Telco Together today welcomes Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications and information services company, to its growing list of telco members working together to support Australian communities in need. The announcement was made by Stuart Lee, Group Executive of Telstra Wholesale, at the 2014 CommsDay Summit in Sydney where Telstra is the Diamond sponsor. 

Launched in 2012, Telco Together is a charitable industry Foundation creating strategic community projects that build on the technology, capabilities and reach of the telecommunications industry to support the community, with particular focus on enabling the not-for-profit sector. Telco Together also raises funds and awareness for communities suffering from disadvantage within Australia. 

“The Foundation represents a unique opportunity to harness the collective power of the telecommunications industry to support Australian communities. Telstra’s unrivalled reach and experience using technology to support the community will bring valuable insight towards developing Telco Together strategic projects, and further enhance our ability to deliver innovative industry-wide programs,” said Renee Bowker, CEO of Telco Together Foundation.

Telstra has a longstanding interest and involvement in supporting local communities through the Telstra Foundation, which has worked with thousands of community organisations and contributed over $50 million in grants.  With a strong focus on creating digital connections for social change, Telstra Foundation’s major programs include a partnership with The Allanah & Madeline Foundation to support Australia’s 1500 public libraries to become safe, smart and responsible digital hubs, as well as a unique collaboration with the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence, announced in 2013, to support Indigenous Digital Excellence.  In addition, Telstra Foundation’s Social Innovation grants and employee giving programs also demonstrate the power of technology to change lives.
 

“Telstra is all about creating a brilliant connected future for everyone – this underpins everything we do, across our business. Our partnership with Telco Together also reflects this belief and we look forward to working with the wider telecommunications industry to improve social connection and inclusion for some of Australia’s most excluded groups,” said Stuart Lee, Group Executive, Telstra Wholesale. 

Telstra’s membership will include a seat on Telco Together’s Advisory Board, consisting of Executive Officer level representation from key telco members meeting twice yearly to guide the strategic direction and activities of the Telco Together Foundation, and its range of community projects.

About Telco Together Foundation

Launched in July 2012, Telco Together is a registered charity that brings together the telecommunications industry in support of disadvantaged communities in areas including Indigenous communities, the homeless, mental health and refugees. Creating a unique and wide-reaching
platform for social change by drawing on the industry’s core capabilities, strengths and access to technology is the cornerstone of the Foundation’s vision.

Members of the Foundation include Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, NBN Co, M2, iiNet, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Aggregato, BigAir, Community Telco, Globe Telecom, Informatel,
  Next Telecom, NexGen, Next Business Telecom, Red Dot Telecom, Smart Business Telecom, Skybridge, Telcoinabox, Vocus Communications and 4 Nines Telecom. The Foundation is governed by an Advisory Board that has Executive Officer level representation from members.


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