MTN, FIFA launch 1GOAL

18 Feb 2010

The MTN Group and FIFA, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, are launching 1GOAL, the Education for All mobile campaign, that will see MTN and its partners collect names and support from the public, footballers and celebrities to petition worldwide governments to meet their “Education for All” target by 2015.

1GOAL plans to deliver the names collected through the campaign to the governments ahead of the next UN meeting on Millennium Development Goals in September 2010.

MTN, FIFA, the GSM Association, other mobile operators, global football stars, educational champions, charities and campaigners are supporting 1GOAL - a legacy initiative of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Operators serving more than 900 million mobile users will deliver the international mobile communications campaign.

Universal education, a universal demand

Kicking off on 20 April 2010, 52 days before the opening game at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, people may sign up via a host of mobile response mechanisms aiming to demonstrate to global leaders and the UN that universal education is a universal demand.

Says MTN group executive, corporate affairs, Nozipho January-Bardill: “MTN regards the 1GOAL: Education for All Mobile Campaign as a unique opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to social development in underdeveloped and emerging markets with a specific focus on education. Our involvement in this campaign is an extension of the developmental role we continue to play in our markets through the work of our foundations.

“One of the responsibilities that come with operating a business in highly indebted parts of the world, which are characterised by dysfunctional education systems and high levels of poverty, is responding to the nation's social needs and to work with partners - including government, civil society organisations and the business sector to effect social change,” January-Bardill says.

International commitment

Education for All is the international commitment that world leaders have signed up to, to provide good quality public education to all children and adults by 2015. The commitment includes prioritising those who are currently missing out on an education, getting them into school, and making sure when they're in school they get the chance to learn, with qualified teachers.

After the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Global Campaign for Education and its member national coalitions will continue the campaign until the presentation of the petition to the world leaders in September 2010.

Says the GSMA's CEO, Rob Conway: “Our board has recognised the role, responsibility and reach of mobile in harnessing global support for universal education, a critical part of the UN's mission to eliminate world poverty. As a result, today we announce a collaborative campaign that is unprecedented in our industry, utilising the scale of the world's largest medium to make a real difference to the future for millions of children in the world.”

World leaders are meeting in September 2010 to discuss their ongoing commitments to Education for All and the 1GOAL Mobile Campaign will enable tens of millions of people to let those leaders know that education for all can help end world poverty.

Celebrities and world leaders who have pledged their support for 1GOAL include Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, Aaron Mokoena, Matthew Booth and Nwankwo Kanu.

For more information, go to www.join1goal.org.