Bono, Lula and the fight against extreme poverty

Former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and his "friend" Bono had a meeting and talked for an hour in London. There he proposed the president to command a global institution to replicate the implementation of social plans  made in Brazil, such as "Bolsa de Familia" (Family Bag).As Bono already knows the social inclusion program conducted in Brazil, he asked Lula to do a summary of its viability worldwide, since in his view, Lula could replace what  Nelson Mandela   (now with problems health)used to do as the major party of the poor world.

"You're the only person able to speak with socialist and capitalist leaders of rich countries and the Third World. You must lead an international crusade to transform Bolsa Familia in a planetarium program. I want to do this with you, "said Bono.

The plan 'Bolsa Familia' applied during Lula government in Brazil, allowed out of extreme poverty over 40 million people and social program placed this global reference.





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Eradicating extreme poverty doesn’t have to be a dream: Bono at TED2013

In 2005, the TED Prize was given to Bono. Eight years later, Chris Anderson asks, has there been any progress? The U2 frontman is here to tell us. But first, some good-natured Anglo-Irish joshing. “Chris Anderson asked me if I could put the last 25 years of of anti-poverty campaigning into 10 minutes. That’s an Englishman asking an Irishman to be succinct?” Bono is incredulous; the audience seems happy to laugh at both nations.

Bono’s passion: countering what Nelson Mandela refers to as “that most awful offense to humanity, extreme poverty.” His weapon of choice? Facts. “Forget the rock opera, forget the bombast, my usual tricks,” he says. “The only thing singing today will be the facts. I have truly embraced my inner nerd. Exit the rock star.” He removes his trademark sunglasses. “Enter the evidence-based activist.” He puts his glasses back on upside down. Bono is now a “factivist.” And he has the infographic-filled slides to prove it.

Here’s the surprise: there’s a lot of good news. Since 2000, eight million AIDS patients have been receiving retroviral drugs; malaria deaths have been cut by 75%; child mortality rate of kids under 5 is down by 2.65 million deaths a year. “Let’s think about that,” he says. “Have you read anything, anywhere in the last week that is as remotely as important as that number? It’s great news, and it drives me nuts most people don’t know this.”

More stats. Bono clearly has good graphic designers on staff. The number of people living in soul-crushing poverty declined from 43% in 1990 to 33% in 2000 to 21% by 2010. The audience approves and yet, he acknowledges, the rate is still too high. “If you live on less than $1.25 a day, this is not just data. This is everything. If you’re a parent who wants the best for your kids, and I am, this rapid transition is a route out of despair and into hope.”

Can the trajectory continue? Bono has tracked it forward. “If the trajectory continues, look at the number of people living on a dollar a day by 2030: zero. That can’t be true, can it?” But it is. The Zero Zone is possible, even for troubled countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Think of the benefits if this actually transpires, Bono challenges. For one thing, he jokes, “you won’t have to listen to an insufferable jumped-up Jesus like myself.” And 2030 is just around the corner. “That’s only three Rolling Stones farewell concerts away.” The audience laughs, even more when the singer adds drily, “I’m hoping. They make us look really young.”

Here’s the rub. We can’t take any of this for granted. “The opportunity is real, but so is the jeopardy. We can’t get this done until we accept that we can get this done. Inertia is how we screw this up. Momentum is how we bend the arc of history down towards zero.” But fighting those who would stand in the way of positive progress is a responsibility for everyone. Fighting corruption is easier by means of transparency and openness, and it’s critical that we all play our part. He cites a report from Uganda, where millennials are reporting and exposing government corruption by means of 2G phones and SMS messages. 

“Once you have these tools, you can’t not use them. You can’t delete this data from your brain,” says Bono. “You can delete the cliché image from your brain of supplicant impoverished people not having control of their own lives. That’s not true.”

So can everyone here at TED also take up the cause, become so-called “factivists”? Bono’s on the hard sell. “We’re here to try and infect you with this virtuous database virus, the one we call factivism. It’s not going to kill you; it could save countless lives. We in the ONE campaign would love you to be contagious, spread it, share it, pass it on. By doing so, you will join us and countless others in what I truly believe is the greatest adventure ever taken. The ever-demanding journey of equality. Could we answer that clarion call of Nelson Mandela with science, reason, facts and dare I say it, emotion?”

In conclusion, Bono quotes Wael Ghonim, the former Googler who used social networking and technology tools with such effect in the Egyptian uprising. “I have his words tattooed on my brain,” says Bono. “We’re going to win because we don’t understand politics. We’re going to win because we don’t play their dirty games. We’re going to win because we don’t have an agenda. We’re going to win because the tears that comes from our eyes actually come from our hearts. We’re going to win because we have dreams. We’re going to win because we are willing to stand up for our dreams.

“He’s right,” Bono reminds us. “We’ll win if we work together as one, the people. The power of the people is so much stronger than the people in power.” And, for the man who earlier confessed that applause was his weakness, a standing ovation.

From "Fever Picture" FB page 

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Bono at the Vatican

(Vatican Radio) Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner Bono was back in the Vatican on Friday to thank the Catholic Church for its support of the Drop the Debt campaign a decade ago and to discuss further ways of working together on aid and development.
Vatican Radio’s Philippa Hitchen met up with the lead singer of U2 as he was coming out of a meeting with the president of the Vatican’s Justice and Peace Council, Cardinal Peter Turkson…
During an almost hour long meeting the cardinal and the rock star turned activist talked about the huge success of the Jubilee 2000 campaign to free the poorest countries from their burden of foreign debts. Thanks to the success of that popular movement, Bono told me, World Bank figures show that “there are an extra 52 million children going to school” as governments have been able to invest in education instead of debt repayments. 
Bono said he was encouraging the cardinal to communicate to ordinary people in the pews the extraordinary impact they’d made by turning out on the streets in support of that campaign. He said the Church deserves “incredible credit for being in the vanguard of that movement.……it was an interfaith movement and it was also what you might call inter-disciplinary because you had priests and nuns walking alongside punk rockers and musicians and sports people and soccer mums… it was a great panoply of characters…..but I just think the Church hasn’t done a good job yet of telling people what they’ve achieved and we were just trying to figure out how best to do that.”
The U2 front man, who met with Pope John Paul II to seek support for his humanitarian work, said he’d “be delighted” to meet with Pope Benedict XVI. During his private audience with the former elderly pontiff, Bono’s famously gave him his blue fly-shades to try on. He also received from the Pope a silver crucifix which he pulled out from under his shirt to show me – I still wear it, he said with a smile. And he still clearly believes very much in the Catholic Church as an important partner in the struggle to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor. 
Listen:  

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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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Bono Met VIP European People for ONE

Bono met Joachim Gauck , the president of Germany at Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Monday 8th October. He has talked on behalf of ONE about world poverty and preventable diseases in poor countries. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes.

Bono bring his "One" campaign to Germany por reuters

http://www.tz-online.de

On Tuesday he met Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament at Brussels  to confirm his  strong support in the European Parliament for EU development aid.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament

Later in the day he met  Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council who wrote in his Twitter account:

“Another beautiful day. EU committed to 0,7% GNI to development aid. Happy that Bono also interested in EU budget deal” 

twitter

Finally he met Jose Manuel Durao Barroso,President of the European Commission to coordinate their efforts on fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease.

http://www.businessandleadership.com

Today Bono and Bill Gates,ONE Co-founders, met with with French President Francois Hollande today to discuss crucial development & humanitarian issues.

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