4.3) By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
For years, Google has provided free Google App accounts to educational institutions across the Asia Pacific region. For example, Google provides Google Apps and YouTube Live at no cost to the Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre, the regional Internet registry in the Asia-Pacific region. In countries like Thailand, the company has partnered with governments to ensure that the technologies disseminate to institutions across the country. Moreover, to ease the transfer process, Google offers technical workshops and consultations to teachers. In 2013, Malaysia received Google Apps for 10 million students, parents, and teachers as well as Chromebooks for its primary and secondary schools. The initiative is part of the country’s plan to transform its educational system by providing advanced technological tools to facilitate the learning process and put the country on the path to development.
8.2) Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor intensive sectors
Small and medium sized enterprises in developing regions will play a crucial role in their countries’ development. Large international companies can provide the needed resources for these SMEs to grow. Google is helping local businesses to establish an online presence to increase their revenues. In India, Google helped SMEs by providing the mobile app “Google My Business.” The app allows businesses to create and manage their content for free on Google products in both Hindi and English.
9.C) Significantly increase access to ICT and strive to provide universal and affordable access to internet in LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS by 2020
Google is a sponsor of the Alliance for Affordable Internet, a coalition of public, private, and not-for-profit organizations that aim to provide affordable Internet access to all. These organizations, which include Ericsson, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, and Yahoo, have agreed on a set of policies and regulatory best practices that focus on driving prices down to meet the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than 5% of monthly income. To achieve this goal, they work with various stakeholders across Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, the Dominican Republic and Myanmar to establish formal relationships with each country’s national government and publish affordability reports which showcase both successes and challenges to making Internet affordable and accessible.
17.6) Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation, and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, particularly at UN level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism when agreed
Google strongly supports the Internet Governance Forum, a medium through which multiple stakeholders can convene on key Internet governance and policy issues. The IGF advocates for democratic and transparent processes, encouraging participants from both the private and public sectors. In order to fund the forum, Google established the “Friends of the IGF Fund” through the Tides Foundation. Contributors to this fund include Intel and Facebook.