The quality of young people's livelihoods decreasing, with consequent decline in purchasing power. Prolonged high unemployment among young people risks producing an entire generation of people lacking the confidence and skills to contribute to the workforce. Microsoft had been doing what they call corporate citizenship work for a long time, focusing on under-served communities. First and foremost, young people were most of their customer base. Second, they were educating themselves in technology, and the company wanted to understand how to help them do that better. And finally, they realized that, especially in under-served communities, young people were falling further and further behind the employment curve. Youthspark is centered on opportunities. The Youthspark Hub is a platform for young people to access resources and realize their potential. Imagine Cup is a business/tech competition for students from all over the world that tackles some of the world's biggest challenges.