Swedish-based IT firm Ericsson has 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 Africa –
especially South Sudan and Uganda – as well as the United States.
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.
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.
Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg said
that the company’s work with PeaceEarth Foundation is a natural extension of
how to bring its 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," said Vestberg.
Lars Lindén, head of Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa, who introduced a panel
discussion on ‘African digital
entrepreneurs’ at the Nairobi session which discussed ways in which the internet has
revolutionized African businesses and the role played by organizations like
Ericsson in driving this, underscored the importance of broadband
revolution.
“Today,
broadband is recognized as a basic need, a core part of societal infrastructure
as essential as roads and bridges. It is revolutionizing all areas of our lives
and enabling a new era of empowerment for people, business and society. We see
this forum as an occasion to explore new ways in which we can exploit the
opportunities the technology avails,” said Lindén.
The PeaceEarth Foundation brings together
public and private entities and aims to 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. The commitment
will allow us to advance our shared goal to collectively move our world towards
peace, one day at a time," said Forest Whitaker.
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.
Antony Aisi, Africansciencenews.org