The United Nations Foundation today launched its first smart phone application, which it hopes will allow users to quickly access information about the activities of both the UN system and the Foundation itself. The new “app” will have daily news content about the Organization, photographs, videos and games, as well as information about UN Foundation initiatives on areas ranging from children's health to climate change. Users will also be able to connect to social media networks such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter so they can donate to UN activities or send messages to spread the word about UN initiatives. Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, helped launch the app at UN Headquarters, noting that mobile technology has brought more people together worldwide. “We know that, now in the world, over five billion people have access to mobile phones,” he said. “This is an important development… Everywhere in the world, including in many developing countries, [people] have access to mobile phones. And this is the exciting way to reach out to the widest possible audiences of the world.” Akasaka said the new app is part of a broader effort by the UN to use different technologies and formats to reach the public. Stevie Wonder, a UN Messenger of Peace, said he has already downloaded the app, learning facts such as the number of people in the past decade who have been vaccinated thanks to the efforts of the UN. Wonder, who is blind, noted that the design of the app is particularly helpful for persons with disabilities. Monique Coleman, the first ever UN Youth Champion, said the app allows the public, especially young people, to “go inside of the walls and go inside the doors [of the UN] and be able to really understand” its work. “So many young people spend time on the Internet,” she said. “So many young people are on their phones 24 hours a day, and for them now to have access, to be able to share some of the most poignant things that are happening in the world, but from the most credible source” should create a more informed and aware generation of people. BM/UN
