Sun Microsystems Teams with the United Nations to Bring Next Generation of African Leaders to Technology Conference PopTech

Sun Participation Fellows to Engage in Roundtable Discussion on Use of Technology for Social and Economic Advancement in Africa

Santa Clara, Calif., Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) will sponsor 12 young African civic and technology leaders, including Neema Mgana of Tanzania, the youngest of 1,000 global activist women collectively nominated for the 2005 Nobel Prize for Peace, as Sun Participation Fellows at this year’s PopTech conference. Held next week in Camden, Maine, PopTech is a leading forum for exploring the social impacts of technology and the shape of things to come. Sun sponsors the Fellows to attend the three-day conference, where they will be able to work with and learn from some of the world’s best thinkers in technology, science, the arts and business.

In addition to full participation in the conference, the Sun Participation Fellows will participate in a roundtable on how technology can be used for social and economic advancement in Africa. Sun’s Chief Researcher and Vice President of the Science Office John Gage and Fortune Senior Internet Editor David Kirkpatrick will also participate in the discussions, held from 9-11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23 at Camden’s Opera House.

“People around the world -- from New Orleans to Tanzania to Islamabad -- can use the power of the network to have a huge impact on their society,” said Gage. “The Sun Participation Fellows bring their direct experiences in Africa to the discussions at PopTech. Together, we will create new direct, person-to-person links to support fundamental change in Africa.”

“The Fellows program is a perfect demonstration of our shared belief in the role of technology in solving grand challenges,” said Andrew Zolli, PopTech curator. “Without Sun’s commitment, this first-of-its-kind program would not be possible.”

Working in partnership with the United Nations’ New York Office of Sport for Development and Peace, PopTech selected Fellows from across Africa and from among Africans living abroad and working on improving conditions in their home countries. Each Fellow is working to advance social and economic agendas including reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS, alleviating extreme poverty through fair trade, business and government reform, and improving healthcare.

“The young African leaders at PopTech will have a significant opportunity to draw on the knowledge of technological visionaries and discuss ways that technology, combined with the convening power of can contribute to efforts by the next generation to improve opportunity in their home countries,” said Djibril Diallo, director of the UN New York Office of Sport for Development and Peace.

The Fellows include:

* Neema Mgana, 30 years old, Tanzania
2005 Nobel Prize for Peace nominee, HIV/AIDS activist, youth leadership activist
* Elleni Muluneh Gebremariam, 20 years old, Ethiopia
Education and communications specialist
* Lydia Muchodo, Uganda
Promoter of peace and tolerance through sport
* Khaddiatou Diedhiou Diop, 30 years old, Senegal
Youngest member of Parliament of Senegal, focused on reducing child mortality and improving maternal health
* Rotimi Olawale, 22 years old, Nigeria
Reformer of private sector, partnerships, media
* Clement M. Bwalya, 27 years old, Zambia
Advocate of social change through sport, reformer of health sector
* Brian Longwe, 34 years old, Kenya
Chief technology officer for the Africa Internet Service Provider Association (AfrISPA)
* Eric Osiakwan, 27 years old, Ghana
Internet communications consultant, journalist, blogger
* Ndesanjo Macha, 35 years old, Tanzania
Key figure of Swahili-language blogging, lawyer and digital rights activist
* Ory Okollah, 28 years old, Kenya
Leading blogger, telecommunications reform activist
* David Gyewu, 41 years old, Ghana
Former deputy minister for communications and technology for Ghana, telecommunications reform activist
* Emeka Okafor, 41 years old, New York
Blogger, consultant and entrepreneur focused on finance and sustainable technology

Sun Participation Fellows Program is Latest Step to “Share the Opportunity”

The Sun Participation Fellows Program at PopTech is the latest step in Sun’s Share the Opportunity initiative, a global effort to help promote participation in social change. It is also continues the company’s agreement with the United Nations, the last result of which was Sun’s donation of technology, support and training at the UN’s Second Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit in Morocco.

Sun believes the world is entering a new era - a Participation Age - where dramatically lowered barriers to entry, plummeting device prices, and near-universal connectivity are driving a new round of network participation. From blogs to Java(TM) technology, SMS messages to Web services, participants are forming communities to drive change, create new businesses, new social services, and new discoveries. This growth in the network economy is fueled by sharing and collaboration among communities interconnected by technology and driven by purpose. Sun also believes that sharing and collaboration in the Participation Age will stimulate innovation to help all participants from across the world grow and prosper.

About PopTech

PopTech was founded in 1997 to explore the impact of technology on people. Hosted annually in the historic seaside village of Camden, Maine, PopTech is a non-profit organization focused on uniting the world’s most prominent thought leaders to network, share knowledge, and discuss the effects of technology on society. The conference’s roster of speakers and its unique format have earned international acclaim. The audience is limited to 500 attendees and includes founders, CEOs, creators, senior technical personnel, investors, inventors, and policy makers from academia, government and private think tanks. For more information, see www.poptech.org.

About the UN New York Office of Sport for Development and Peace

Young people are a key focus of the Office’s efforts to mobilize the power of sport to promote education, health, development and peace in support of the Millennium Development Goals, and technology offers ways to greatly multiply the impact of these efforts. The partnership with Sun Microsystems for the UN Youth Leadership Summit series, which is gathering young leaders from regions worldwide to plan initiatives to meet challenges such as extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS, exemplifies the vital role that technology can play. The Office works under the guidance of Adolf Ogi, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace and former President of Switzerland. Visit www.unyouthsummit.org

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- “The Network Is The Computer” -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world’s most important markets. Sun’s philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, Solaris, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Contact Information

Carolyn Rohrer

Media Contact

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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