MDC Partners Announces Creation of "MDC Humanitarian Award"
Award Will Annually Recognize Innovators in Philanthropy
NEW YORK, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MDC Partners (Nasdaq: MDCA) today announces the creation of the MDC Humanitarian Award to recognize individuals and organizations whose disruptive thinking and innovation have led to lasting and sustainable impact. The inaugural award will be presented at the 2011 WIRED Conference in New York on May 3, which is being produced in partnership with MDC Partners. The focus of this year's conference is "Disruptive by Design," and it will bring together leaders in business and technology to discuss how using disruption and innovation will pave the way to growth.
The first award is being presented to Salman Khan in recognition of his creation of the Khan Academy and his innovative approach to education. The Khan Academy was the result of Salman's desire to help tutor his cousin in New Orleans while he was living in Boston in 2004. Over time his lesson plans evolved into videos, which he began posting to YouTube for her to complete at her own pace, and they quickly built a strong following of viewers.
"We have created the MDC Humanitarian Award because we feel it is important to recognize that true talent innovates and creates not merely for profit and prestige, but to create a legacy of transforming the lives of those in need," said Miles Nadal, CEO of MDC Partners. "We are proud to honor Salman Khan because he reinvented broken systems to deliver educational tools across the world. Perhaps most significantly, these tools are encouraging under-served individuals to fuel their love of learning and help themselves."
Although Khan is the only teacher at the Khan Academy, he has posted over 2100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises that have received more the 24 million views. His lessons continue to expand, covering everything from physics to finance and history. Khan's goal is to bring a world-class education to anyone in the world completely free, and he is currently being aided by Google to help translate his lessons into all the most commonly spoken languages.
Overall, MDC Partners has pledged $100,000 to the recipients of the MDC Humanitarian Award during the first 5 years of its existence. To honor Khan's work, MDC will contribute $20,000 to the Khan Academy.
"I am extremely honored to be the first recipient of this award, and am excited that a company like MDC is recognizing innovation beyond the business world," said Mr. Khan. "The Khan Academy has been very successful thus far, and with the support of companies like MDC its influence and reach will only continue to grow."
About MDC Partners Inc.
MDC is a Business Transformation Organization that utilizes technology, marketing communications, data analytics and insights and strategic consulting solutions to drive meaningful returns on Marketing and Communications Investments for multinational clients in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean.
MDC's durable competitive advantage is to Empower the Most Talented Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders to Drive Business Success to new levels of Achievement, for both our Clients and our Shareholders, reinforcing MDC's reputation as "The Place Where Great Talent Lives."
MDC Partners' Class A shares are publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "MDCA" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDZ.A".
SOURCE MDC Partners
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