TECH30 Magazine is not responsible for the content in this press release.
-
Ericsson joins forces with Forest Whitaker's PeaceEarth Foundation
-
Ericsson will provide Internet access via mobile broadband, computers, and ICT training to youth in conflict zones
-
Initiative announced at Social Good Summit in New York
At the Social Good Summit in New York, Ericsson
(NASDAQ: ERIC) announced its commitment to join Oscar-winning actor,
humanist and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO, Forest Whitaker, in a new
foundation whose mission it is to promote peace among youth everywhere,
from troubled urban neighborhoods in the United States to rural conflict
areas in Africa.
The PeaceEarth Foundation brings together public and
private entities and will serve as a vehicle for an array of programs,
initiatives and campaigns in the U.S. and around the world.
"Ericsson's support to PeaceEarth will establish a
truly connected program in South Sudan and Uganda," said Whitaker. "The
commitment will allow us to advance our shared goal to collectively move
our world towards peace, one day at a time."
Ericsson's engagement will begin by providing
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions to schools in
two locations, South Sudan and Uganda, in conjunction with the global
education initiative Connect To Learn. This will enable the PeaceEarth
Foundation to establish access to the internet and create a
collaborative environment among the participating youth and further
develop the education initiatives.
Also through Connect To Learn, Ericsson will provide
on-site project management resources, Wi-Fi coverage, and basic ICT
training for teachers and students on the use of the Ericsson cloud
computing solution.
At the Social Good Summit in New York, a panel was
held with Whitaker, Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg and Jeffrey
Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Ericsson's Vestberg said: "Our work with PeaceEarth
Foundation is a natural extension of how we bring our competence to
advocate for Technology for Good around the world. We know that our
technology has a positive link to development, where 10% of increased
broadband penetration leads to more than 1% sustainable growth in GDP.
"You can't have positive social and economic
development where people are suffering from conflicts or natural
disasters. I hope that extending access to education will help enable
the PeaceEarth Foundation further its goals," Vestberg concluded.
Currently, 1.5 billion people live in countries
affected by violent conflict, and more than 8 million children have been
killed or disabled through violent conflict. Working in partnership
with local and regional experts, civil society and multilateral
organizations, governments and businesses, PeaceEarth will work to
promote peaceful conflict resolution through youth empowerment, access
to knowledge, capacity-building and cultural diversity.
PeaceEarth Foundation recently launched an
interactive website that gives people the power to learn, engage and
act. It serves to connect and foster dialogue among communities,
practitioners and scholars, giving people key information about conflict
zones, best practices in peace-building, and solutions.
The work of the Foundation is also instrumental to
further the mission of Whitaker as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace
and Reconciliation, and co-founder of the International Institute for
Peace.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The PeaceEarth Foundation website is live at: www.peaceearth.org
For more information about Connect To Learn: www.connecttolearn.org
Photos Hans Vestberg:
http://www.ericsson.com/thecompany/press/photolibrary/management
http://www.ericsson.com/thecompany/press/photolibrary/management
Photos of Hans Vestberg and Forest Whitaker will be available on www.ericsson.com/press
Ericsson is the world's leading
provider of communications technology and services. We are enabling the
Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that allow us all
to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable societies
around the world.
Our offering comprises services,
software and infrastructure within Information and Communications
Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today more than
40 percent of the world's mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks
and we support customers' networks servicing more than 2.5 billion
subscribers.
We operate in 180 countries and
employ more than 100,000 people. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is
headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 the company's net sales were
SEK 226.9 billion (USD 35.0 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX,
Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
www.ericsson.com
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress
www.twitter.com/ericssonsustain
www.facebook.com/technologyforgood
www.youtube.com/ericssonpress
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress
www.twitter.com/ericssonsustain
www.facebook.com/technologyforgood
www.youtube.com/ericssonpress
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Corporate Public & Media Relations
Phone: +46 10 719 69 92
E-mail: media.relations@ericsson.com
Phone: +46 10 719 69 92
E-mail: media.relations@ericsson.com
Ericsson Press Release