Facebook stepped up its efforts to connect the entire world to the Internet by promising to provide Syrian refugees with internet access. In his Saturday speech, Zuckerberg said that the internet isn't just there to facilitate communication; it is capable of lifting people from poverty, which makes it a key to increasing their quality of life.
"Connectivity will help refugees better access support from the aid community and maintain their links to families," he said.
In an article called the ‘Connectivity Declaration,’ co-written with the frontman of the Irish rock-band U2, Bono, and published in The New York Times, Zuckerberg stated that while refugees were seeking asylum, smartphones made it possible for many of those at the checkpoints to get in touch with the loved ones they'd left behind.
“The Internet should not belong to only 3 billion people as it does today. It should be seen as a necessity for development and a tool that makes larger things possible,” the article quotes Zuckerberg as saying in an address to the UN.
Zuckerberg didn’t clarify how and where his company would work with refugee camps, but expressed his belief that universal internet access should be considered a global priority.
He added that Facebook could cooperate with UN agencies in developing tools to monitor progress toward accomplishing the development goals.
