March 2009
Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson has been appointed to the External Advisory Board of The Earth Institute at the University of Columbia.
This appointment highlights the importance of telecommunications in achieving sustainable development and closing the gap between developing and developed countries. It also reinforces Ericsson's ongoing commitment to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed to reduce global extreme poverty.
Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute says, "Mobile telephony is a critical transformational tool for development in Africa and one of the fastest ways for poor countries to narrow the technology gap with the developed world. Carl-Henric and Ericsson are leading the way in bringing connectivity to developing countries and are essential partners with the Earth Institute in our mission to achieve sustainable development throughout the world. Carl-Henric's experience in business and telecommunications will be a marvelous addition to the Earth Institute's Advisory Board and we are honored to have his critical insights helping to guide our mandate."
"People and organizations around the world have a fundamental role to play in successfully achieving sustainable development and we will continue to build partnerships with academia, corporations, nonprofits and individuals as well as governmental, multilateral and private institutions to find effective and sustainable solutions for the world's challenges."
The collaboration between Ericsson and the Earth Institute began in 2007 with the Millennium Villages project and over the past two years has shown how effective the collaboration between private sector, non-profit organizations and governments can be.
Through different projects, Ericsson and the Earth Institute have shown that mobile communication significantly improves quality of life, providing the tools to deliver enormous socio-economic benefits to people in developing countries. Connectivity helps to offset a lack of resources, particularly in rural areas, and provides access to a range of services, including education and healthcare.
Recent research shows that increased mobile penetration boosts economic activity; increase in mobile penetration can lead up to .6 percent increase in the annual growth rate in a country's GDP.
Furthermore, projects such as the Millennium Villages initiative demonstrate that connecting the next billion people, even those in the most remote parts of the world, can be achieved with a positive business case while ensuring services are affordable for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
Key to ongoing success will be combining innovative solutions, including green technology, public-private partnerships and new business models.
Other members of the Advisory Board include Nobel Prize laureates Kenneth J. Arrow and Norman E. Bourlag, economist George Soros and singer Bono.
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