Latest News on Bono and Edge

Bono and Edge participated in the the F.ounders high-tech conference in Dublin on 19th.
Speaking at  conference in Dublin today,  Bono was effusive in his praise for grassroots social movements and the change they can effect on a global scale. The Irish rocker attended the event to promote the ONE anti-poverty campaign that he leads together with a number of other well-known figures, but his message was firmly focused on what we, the anonymous masses, can do by simply participating.

"Make it dangerous for a lawmaker to object to a bill that's transformative on behalf of the world's poor."

Citing the example of an Iowa Congressman that was opposing exactly such a piece of legislation, Bono pointed out that it was the strong and persistent backlash from his constituents that forced him to yield in his objections. Similarly, the Drop the Debt campaign and march that Bono was involved in organizing produced tangible results in pushing developed nations to cancel debt to developing countries in Africa. It's a familiar refrain about the effectiveness of direct democratic participation, but its undercurrent is about the importance of information technology.

How can you keep your Congressman in check if you don't know what he's doing behind the closed doors of Capitol Hill? How could the Occupy Wall Street movement have been mobilized without the communication facilitated by the web? Transparency is of profound importance to a democratic society and technology is one of the keys to unlocking the information we need to effect meaningful change.

Couching his argument in more dramatic terms, Bono goes on to say that "the 21st century began last year in Tahrir Square, where the pyramid of power was inverted." He is, of course, referring to the Egyptian uprising that resulted in the overthrow of dictatorial leader Hosni Mubarak, a campaign that was built upon a foundation of social networking organization, with such standout Facebook groups as the 6th of April Youth Movement and We are all Khaled Said. The organizer of the latter group, Wael Ghonim (pictured below), was imprisoned for his efforts to spread information about the treatment of Khaled Said by Egyptian police, but he considers that a small price to pay. He agrees with Bono in believing that "technology narrowed the gap between the power the politicians have and the power that average individuals have."

Read more.

The Edge was interviewed in the same event

Bono leaves The Cellar Bar at The Merrion Hotel after having a meeting with Irish Economist David McWilliams Dublin, Ireland - WENN.com

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