On September 28, Mark Zuckerberg spoke to the United Nations on making the Internet accessible for everyone in the world.
Zuckerberg was able to speak at the 70th annual general assembly session. During his speech, he discussed that connecting the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation. This is a problem because almost 4.2 billion people still do not have Internet access.
This is not the first time Zuckerberg has launched a campaign to give Internet access to everyone. In August 2013, Zuckerberg launched a website called internet.org, hoping to connect 5 billion people without Internet access.
Zuckerberg, along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, spoke to the UN and addressed that they wish to make sure everyone in the word has Internet access by the year 2020. “The Internet belongs to everyone," Zuckerberg said. "It should be accessible by everyone."
The Internet is not only for social media use, like Zuckerberg's Facebook, but for education as well. Students use the Internet for project research, online classes and basic growth of knowledge. The world is using the Internet more and more, and for those countries that do not have this access, it is leaving them behind in education.
But it was not just educational factors Zuckerberg focused on. He mentioned that by giving internet access to everyone, it would give all people a voice. Zuckerberg wrotein a Facebook message before he gave his speech that he wanted to focus on giving Internet access to everyone because it was a “global priority.”
“When people have access to the tool and knowledge of the Internet, they have access to opportunities that make life better for all of us,” Zuckerberg said.
Zuckerberg wants Internet access to be a human right. He believes that giving people Internet access will help lower poverty.
“Research shows that when you give people access to the Internet, one in ten people is lifted from poverty,” he said. “I call on leaders and innovators from all countries, industries and communities to come together to make universal Internet access a reality, as promised in new global goals."
