|27 February 2017|
Barcelona
A pioneering partnership to leverage the power of big data for social good has been launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The United Nations Foundation and the GSMA announced they would work together to tap into the power of data for good, specifically to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ASF
“Better use of the data generated from digital technology has the potential to accelerate work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to save more lives, empower more women and create a more inclusive digital society,” said Kathy Calvin, President and CEO, UN Foundation. “The Foundation is heavily invested in the promise of data for progress, and working with the right partners who can make that vision a reality. The GSMA is an ideal partner as we work to support implementation of the SDGs.”
Mobile operators’ big data capabilities will be used to address humanitarian crises, including epidemics and natural disasters.
Sixteen of the world’s leading mobile operators, which collectively account for over two billion connections across more than 100 countries will contrinute. These include Orange, SK Telecom, Telefónica and Vodafone.
“Our members have actively embraced and supported the Sustainable Development Goals, and together, we have already directly delivered impact for more than 30 million people, in areas such as financial inclusion, energy, agriculture and gender equality,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. “Working in partnership with the UN Foundation, its alliances and other stakeholders focused on strengthening the use of data for development, we hope to expand our efforts to help the global community achieve the SDGs.”
Trials of Big Data for Social Good, focusing on epidemics, will start from June 2017 in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Myanmar and Thailand.
