On February 1st, a young black pilot and a trailblazing IBM engineer will join students and parents from Gorenflo and Nichols Elementary Schools, located in Biloxi, MS, to launch this year’s Black Family Technology Awareness Week, February 11-17, 2007, and a $2 million grant that will provide an interactive software reading tool, known as Reading Companion, to 200 schools and organizations around the world.

Barrington Irving, a 23 year old getting ready to embark on a round the world flight that will make him the first person of African descent and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe, and Kerrie Holley, IBM Fellow, distinguished engineer, and one of the top Blacks in research science, will talk about how technology is helping them realize their dreams.

Irving will take the students on a virtual flight. He will outline the route he will take on his history-making flight around the world. The students will explore IBM chip technology built into leading video game systems such as Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony, PlayStation and Nintendo Wii. The students will also take turns using Reading Companion, IBM’s web-based literacy technology that uses speech-recognition software to literally listen and guide online learners to improve their English reading skills.

Black Family Technology Awareness Week is a global awareness raising campaign that promotes the value of technology in black communities around the world, as well as the importance of the educational and career preparation of black youth. This year, sponsors, professional, and community organizations, schools, and IBM volunteers expect to host about 100 events in cities across the country, as well as in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Toronto Canada, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Gorenflo and Nichols Elementary Schools have recently being rebuilt after heavy damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005.