Zuckerberg pushes Internet for everyone in U.N. speech
via USA TODAY
by Jon Swartz
Sep 26, 2015
(Photo: Ted S. Warren-Pool, Getty Images)
Yesterday, the pope. Today, Zuck.
For the second day in a row, one of the world’s most powerful people visited New York to speak on the world stage.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the United Nations twice Saturday.
During the 70th annual U.N. General Assembly session, Zuckerberg discussed the “importance of connectivity in achieving the U.N.’s sustainable development goals.” He was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the United Nations Private Sector Forum, where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were also scheduled to speak.
“Connecting the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation,” Zuckerberg said. “More than 4 billion people don’t have a voice online.”
Earlier in the day, Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates led a high-powered contingent whose goal is to bring Internet access to everyone in the world by 2020 – part of a U.N. effort to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. U.N. officials estimate half the world does not have reliable access, especially women and girls, whose education and health is crucial to anti-poverty efforts.
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