Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates call for universal Internet access at UN summit

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“A ‘like’ or a post won’t stop a tank or a bullet, but when people are connected, we have a chance to build a common global community with a shared understanding,” Zuckerberg told at a private luncheon with business leaders at the United Nations. “That’s a powerful force.”

The 193 UN member nations on Friday formally adopted a sweeping set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, that aim to end poverty and combat inequality and climate change over the next 15 years and call for shared peace and prosperity.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg makes his speech at the UN. (Source: Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page)

The pledge is part of a United Nations effort to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, a goal set on Friday during a special summit at the global body.

The Internet became commonplace in developed countries in the 1990s, but UN officials estimate that half the world does not have reliable access — especially women and girls, whose education is vital to development.

“When people have access to the tools and knowledge of the Internet, they have access to opportunities that make life better for all of us,” said a declaration signed by Zuckerberg and Bill and Melinda Gates, who have devoted their wealth to philanthropy.

“The Internet belongs to everyone. It should be accessible by everyone,” the declaration said.

Zuckerberg, writing on Facebook, said that for every 10 people connected to the Internet, one is lifted out of poverty. “If we connect the more than four billion people not yet online, we have a historic opportunity to lift the entire world in the coming decades,” he wrote.

The objectives, described as “a to-do list for people and planet” by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, are intended as a roadmap to be implemented by government and the private sector.

The connectivity campaign calls on governments, businesses and innovators to bring the Internet to the some 4 billion people who now do not have access, organisers said.

Signing on to the connectivity campaign were U2 star Bono, co-founder of One, a group that fights extreme poverty; actress Charlize Theron, founder of Africa Outreach Project; philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates; British entrepreneur Richard Branson; Huffington Post editor Arianna Huffington; Colombian singer Shakira, actor and activist George Takei and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.

With AFP inputs