[bestbits] new initiative from Facebook to coonect the world

Sun Sep 27 13:26:28 EDT 2015

All - Please disregard my message! Somehow it went to the wrong list.
On Sep 27, 2015 10:45 AM, "Josh Levy" <josh at accessnow.org> wrote:

> 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
> PGP: 0x84C9F275
> Fingerprint: B56A D510 3142 2364 69C7 3961 A0A3 67A5 84C9 F275
>
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