[bestbits] new initiative from Facebook to coonect the world

Sun Sep 27 10:45:03 EDT 2015

We have developers, it's cool.

On 09/27/2015 09:53 AM, Carolina Rossini wrote:
> ====forward message ====
>
>
> — I also wanted to make sure that you saw the news about the
> Connectivity Declaration, which Mark Zuckerberg announced at the UN
> today.  You can learn more here:  http://connecttheworld.one.org/. 
> There will also be a Zuckerberg-Bono op-ed in the Times tomorrow on
> connectivity (pasted below).  -Best, Andy
>
>
>
> <https://www.facebook.com/zuck?fref=photo>
> Mark Zuckerberg <https://www.facebook.com/zuck>
> 5 hrs
> <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102391360451281&set=a.612287952871.2204760.4&type=3&permPage=1> ·  
>
>   
>
> Today I’m speaking at the United Nations
> <https://www.facebook.com/unitednations> in New York where I’m going
> to call for universal internet access to be made a global priority.
>
> I’m also kicking off a global call to action in partnership with
> the ONE <https://www.facebook.com/ONE> campaign supported
> by Action/2015 <https://www.facebook.com/action2015>, theBill &
> Melinda Gates Foundation <https://www.facebook.com/gatesfoundation>,
> the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
> <https://www.facebook.com/MoIbrahimFoundation>, Save the Children
> <https://www.facebook.com/savethechildren>, TED
> <https://www.facebook.com/TED>, the United Nations Foundation
> <https://www.facebook.com/unitednationsfoundation>, Ushahidi
> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ushahidi/108316392532530>,
> Bono, Richard Branson
> <https://www.facebook.com/RichardBranson>,Arianna Huffington
> <https://www.facebook.com/AriannaHuffington>, Shakira
> <https://www.facebook.com/shakira>, George Takei
> <https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei>, Charlize Theron
> <https://www.facebook.com/charlizetheron>, Jimmy Wales and many others. 
>
> We have a simple message. Internet access is essential for achieving
> humanity’s Global Goals.
>
> By giving people access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities of
> the internet, we can give a voice to the voiceless and power to the
> powerless. We also know that the internet is a vital enabler of jobs,
> growth and opportunity. And research tells us that for every 10 people
> connected to the internet, about 1 is lifted out of poverty. 
>
> If we connect the more than 4 billion people not yet online, we have a
> historic opportunity to lift the entire world in the coming decades.
> Those without internet access cannot share their voices online. But
> you can. Share your support at www.one.org/connecttheworld
> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?d=AQESN91kD2jYIE842bPdTxRox-JCu80-7ogOvo2o3zmCzfJOo1ZStPkmHz4&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.one.org%2Fconnecttheworld&h=5AQEY3jgc&enc=AZPZr0MugmaYrU2LRESBpBe6kSaeY_LgtwjgEhV0FAoM2Lgy_XJUMqvnKdjEZmBxySKLG1nxyEsWnH9gt_-wKFrxOev7CXcyQkVMM6GVt2YHco5rp0UyZYHREWVWDTpGciQ&s=1> 
>
> #connecttheworld
> <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/connecttheworld> #globalgoals
> <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/globalgoals>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>   To Unite the Earth, Connect It
>
> By BONO and MARK ZUCKERBERGSEPT. 26, 2015
>
> Photo
> Bono, left, and Mark Zuckerberg.CreditKay Nietfeld/European Pressphoto
> Agency, left; Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
> Continue reading the main story
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/to-unite-the-earth-connect-it.html?_r=0#story-continues-1>Share
> This Page
>
> SEVENTY years ago, the United Nations was formed as the expression of
> a simple choice: cooperation instead of war. Humanity would stand as
> one against conflict, poverty and disease. All the world’s voices
> would be heard.
>
> At least, that was the plan.
>
> We’ve come a long way. We’ve halted and reversed the spread of killer
> diseases, extended life expectancy and raised incomes. We’ve even
> walked ourselves back from the edge of some global conflicts and
> catastrophes. But progress has not been evenly distributed. Too many
> people have been left outside of a mostly urban, mostly Northern
> success story.
>
> Seeing that, world leaders put forth a new set of global goals in New
> York last week. If we want to build a world where not just some but
> all get to live in security and prosperity, there’s a lot still to do,
> as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development signed off on by United
> Nations member states shows.
>
> It lists 17 goals and 169 targets, and one of these, 9(c), is a target
> that we believe is crucial to accelerate realization of all the
> others: a commitment to provide Internet connectivity for all by 2020.
>
> Today over half the people on this planet don’t have access. That is
> not good for anyone — not for the disempowered and disconnected, and
> not for the other half, whose commerce and security depend on having
> stable societies.
>
> An unprecedented array of technologists and activists — from Mo
> Ibrahim to Bill and Melinda Gates, action/2015, Ushahidi and Sahara
> Reporters have come together to support a global Connectivity
> Declaration, pledging their support for the new global goals and
> connecting the world to opportunity. This needs to become a global
> movement.
>
> In this century, global development and global connectivity are
> closely linked. If you want to help people feed, heal, educate and
> employ themselves around the world, we need to connect the world as
> well. The Internet should not belong to only three billion people, as
> it does today. It should be seen as a necessity for development, and a
> tool that makes larger things possible.
>
> In Ethiopia and Tanzania, for example, farmers connect to get better
> prices, track inventory and make mobile insurance payments in case of
> bad weather. In Nigeria, citizens use BudgIT
> <http://www.yourbudgit.com/about/>, a mobile app, to assess whether
> governments keep their spending promises. The opportunity is
> especially great for women. Men have significantly more access to the
> web, but when women get connected, they use technology as a pathway to
> better education, health, economic status and security. In Guatemala,
> cellphones inform mothers how to have healthy pregnancies. In Kenya,
> women receive financial services via their cellphones thanks to the
> brilliant M-Pesa microfinance scheme.
>
> In the last few weeks, we’ve watched desperate refugees seek shelter
> on the frontiers of Europe. Smartphones have made it possible for
> those left behind to communicate with loved ones across checkpoints
> and razor wire. The Internet connected our world in shared grief as a
> Syrian child’s death on a beach in Turkey came to symbolize every
> refugee. Social media carried the message and changed not just popular
> opinion but public policy.
>
> It’s one thing to say we should connect the world. The real trick is how.
>
> There’s no simple solution or silicon bullet.
>
> In many places, increasing connectivity will have to start with
> extending access to energy. Nine out of 10 rural Africans don’t have
> electricity. Governments can make the difference. This is why we
> support initiatives like President Obama’s Power Africa plan and the
> bipartisan Electrify Africa Act in Congress, as well as the African
> Development Bank’s investments in renewable energy.
>
> Where governments lay the foundation, the private sector can build.
> Promising efforts are underway to bridge the digital divide. But we
> know the global community can, and must, do more — and urgently.
> The Intel Foundation
> <http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/corporate-responsibility/intel-foundation.html>’s
> work in STEM education, Microsoft’s use of technology to advance the
> Millennium Development Goals and Google’s Project Loon to connect
> remote locations illustrate how technology leaders are prioritizing
> this effort, as is Internet.org, Facebook’s contribution to meeting
> the challenge.
>
> More technology companies and entrepreneurs must take more
> responsibility. Silicon Valley should look beyond itself and act more
> on issues like education, health care and the refugee crisis. We
> challenge the tech industry to do far more for those most
> marginalized, those trapped in poverty, and those beyond or on the
> edge of the network.
>
> All the global goals must be scored — but the goal of connectivity for
> everyone everywhere will surely hurry this game-that’s-not-a-game to
> its successful conclusion. /Hurry/ being the operative word here.
>
> Bono is the lead singer of the band U2 and a founder of the advocacy
> group ONE and its division (RED). Mark Zuckerberg is the founder and
> chief executive of Facebook.
>
> ———
> Andy O’Connell
> Global Policy Development
> Facebook
> Washington, DC
>
>
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-- 
*Josh Levy*
Advocacy Director
Access | accessnow.org

tel: + 1 917 609 6523 | @levjoy
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