EATONTOWN, NJ--(Marketwired - Sep 23, 2015) - Yorktel and Polycom have joined forces to support Education Fast Forward's (EFF) 'Preparing a Better World', a live debate scheduled for 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (ET) September 24, 2015, which will address the United Nations' (UN) agenda for Sustainable Development.
Polycom will provide HD video conferencing solutions and access to their Executive Briefing Experience in New York, London, Cairo, and Bengaluru. Live streaming will be enabled by Yorktel's Emmy award-winning Media Services team via Yorkcast, the Company's webcasting and streaming media service for the enterprise. People around the world will be able to watch a live stream of the debate by visiting www.effdebate.org, which is also where a recording of the debate will be archived.
"For EFF to be effective, it is essential that we invite participation from all over and that people have easy access to join and engage in our events without having to incur exorbitant travel costs or increasing their carbon footprint," said EFF CEO and co-founder, Jim Wynn. "By partnering with Yorktel and Polycom, we are involving educators worldwide, who would otherwise be unable to join our effort, to have a voice and to actively contribute to our debates.
"Webcasting, streaming and collaboration solutions provided by Yorktel and Polycom are critical to our mission of accelerating the improvement of education and education systems worldwide."
EFF is a UK-based non-profit with a global reach to some of the world's most influential educators and policymakers through their regular live debates, which are attended in person and by video, by a growing global movement of teachers, students and leaders. These debates provide delegates a platform to discuss and debate important trends and challenges within the Education sector.
EFF's upcoming debate will raise awareness of the launch of the UN's new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of their "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" Summit. Chaired by Gavin Dykes, EFF co-founder, the event will feature thought leaders from 10 countries
"We are honored to work with Education Fast Forward, a charity that is steadfast in its commitment to making the world a better place, and whose ethos we wholeheartedly support," said Yorktel General Manager & Sales Director for EMEA, Simon Murphy. "Only when contingencies from varying backgrounds, geographies and cultures are each granted a voice will efforts like the EFF's be able to reach their maximum potential. We hope that our involvement helps break down technical barriers that would otherwise stymie face-to-face dialogue and make education more accessible to communities worldwide."
Yorktel is in its 30th year as the worldwide leader in unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), cloud, and video managed services. Available as on-premise or hosted, managed service solution, Yorkcast is customizable and ideally suited for both live and on-demand content delivery, and allows communication with an entire enterprise behind the firewall or a worldwide audience over the public Internet, efficiently and effectively. Browser-based viewing eliminates costs from needing additional software or hardware, and Yorkcast's multimedia content management system is specifically designed to manage, secure, customize and play back media-rich content. Yorktel manages and hosts archived content to ensure all digital assets are available on-demand.
Opening #EFF14 will be Carolina Belalcázar from UNESCO's offices in Paris. The first speaker is Karen Cator, who is the President and CEO of Digital Promise. Also speaking is the Secretary General of Presidential Specialized Councils in Egypt, Tarek Shawki. Closing the debate will be Dominic Regester, senior schools adviser for the British Council.
"This is a great initiative and we are proud to partner with Education Fast Forward to support their live debate," said Andrew Graley, Director of Healthcare, Government and Education EMEA. "Through using Polycom collaboration technologies, it has been possible to enable global participation in this important debate, and we are honored to be part of it."
Education Fast Forward has enjoyed rapid growth in both reach and reputation, with over 30 countries having taken part in its 13 debates to date. The debate can be viewed live via www.effdebate.org and questions can be asked via Twitter using #EFF14.
About Yorktel
Yorktel is a leading global provider of UC&C, cloud, and video managed services for large enterprise, education, healthcare and government customers. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in New Jersey, with offices across the US, UK, Ireland and France, Yorktel enables customers to successfully integrate video into their operations -- from video conferencing to video event production; on premise or in the cloud. Yorktel designs, integrates, and manages enterprise-wide unified communications solutions.
For more information, visit Yorktel online at www.yorktel.com or email knowmore@yorktel.com. Follow Yorktel on Twitter: @Yorktelcorp and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/yorktel)
About Polycom
Polycom helps organisations unleash the power of human collaboration. More than 415,000 companies and institutions worldwide defy distance with secure video, voice and content solutions from Polycom to increase productivity, speed time to market, provide better customer service, expand education and save lives. Polycom and its global partner ecosystem provide flexible collaboration solutions for any environment that deliver the best user experience, the broadest multi-vendor interoperability and unmatched investment protection. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn more.
About Education Fast Forward (EFF)
Education Fast Forward (EFF) is a UK charity that brings together education stakeholders from across the globe to discuss and debate the key issues in education today. Its aim is to move education forward, faster forward. To find out more about EFF, visit www.effdebate.org
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Mostafa Razzak
202-904-2048
m.razzak@jmrconnect.net