Zuckerberg To Bring Internet To Refugee Camps
Source: Sky News
Mark Zuckerberg has said he will help the United Nations bring the internet to refugee camps.
The Facebook founder and CEO made the announcement as he addressed the UN Private Sector Forum. "Connectivity will help refugees better access support from the aid community and maintain their links to families," he said.
Mr Zuckerberg called for universal internet access to be made a global priority. He said wide internet access "needs to be at the heart of the global development strategy" to address new challenges and needs of the new generation.
In the long term, Facebook will help UN agencies develop tools to track progress toward implementing the development goals, Mr Zuckerberg said.
Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/1559522/zuckerberg-to-bring-internet-to-refugee-camps
It'll be good for the refugees to be able to get connected to the interwebs, but it's hard not to be cynical about his motives...
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)Zuckerberg may just be doing it for good PR... Unlikely they'll be buying any stuff to be of use to advertisers...
ellenrr
(3,864 posts)Women who menstruate have no products to use.
I kinda think medicine might be more useful...
Clothes.. it's getting cold in many of the countries where they are.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)I guess he means well but... - Hey, we don't have clean water but Angry Birds!
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)There are many more things that would be important before having internet. How many of these refugees have a computer or a cell phone? Probably not that many.
karynnj
(59,500 posts)Consider that many of the refugees are educated people. Internet access can help them provide information to their relatives and friends that they are alive. In some cases, it might help them find people who can help them relocate and find jobs.
CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)among the disaffected masses.
Utilization of social media is one of the keys to their success.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)of angry, hungry, traumatized people with time on their hands a means to be reached and radicalized by ISIS.
karynnj
(59,500 posts)thought of ways to make that less likely.
bucolic_frolic
(43,111 posts)There's a whole world out there that functions independently of the internet.
Refugee camps are more akin to flea markets.
What shall we do when the refugees contact us? Wire them hot dogs?