The future in a Networked Society

Manoj Dawane

VP & Head Technology – Corporate Responsibility
Ericsson India

We live in a world today where mobile, broadband and cloud are transforming the fabric of society. The advancement in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) has led us to work towards what we call a Networked Society, where everything that can benefit from being connected will be connected. Technology is not just transforming industries and businesses but is having a profound impact on our society.

In line with the vision to use technology and our skills to make this world a better place; our sustainability and corporate responsibility strategy is to create measurable contributions to a sustainable Networked Society by reducing risk and increasing positive impacts. We want to be a responsible and relevant driver of positive change in the society.

We are the leading advocates of Technology for Good in the Networked Society. We are working every day to address issues of climate change, poverty, education, health, human rights, besides humanitarian issues for refugees, peace and disaster response.

According to estimates, 90 per cent of the world’s population will be covered by mobile broadband networks by 2020. This scale brings

unprecedented opportunities to address global sustainable development challenges. Hence, we use our technology, solutions and advocacy to create positive impacts for our stakeholders and our business while managing environmental, social and ethical risks.

Ericsson has a global programme called Connect to Learn. It aims to scale-up access to quality secondary education, especially for girls, by providing scholarships and bringing ICT to schools in remote, resource-poor parts of the world, using mobile broadband and cloud.  Ericsson uses ICT in schools to ensure that children, no matter where they live, have access to learning resources and a quality education.

Skill Development

Ericsson is working on employability of underprivileged youth in India by providing them access to learning resources that were previously unavailable to them. To further this, Ericsson has collaborated with Smile Foundation to offer job-oriented skills and placement assistance to underprivileged youth in Delhi, NCR and Mumbai. The programme imparts training in basic computers and retail sales management skills, along with proficiency in spoken and written English, to youth through its 20 centres across target regions. The curriculum also includes sessions on personal development, career counselling and placement support.

Girl Child Education

Along with Plan India, Ericsson is leveraging Connect To Learn, an initiative to increase self-development opportunities for 15,000 girls and women aged between 15–25 years. As part of this programme, the company has helped set up 15 Ericsson Digital Learning Centres in Delhi that act as knowledge hubs for these girls.

Digital Integration

To promote inclusive growth and development of Barabanki’s handloom community in Uttar Pradesh, Ericsson runs an initiative called Baank-e-Loom in partnership with Digital Empowerment Foundation. The initiative envisages digital development of the handloom weavers’ community in Saidanpur and nearby weaver clusters in Barabanki district. Through digital integration of traditional skills and communities, Ericsson India aims to empower traditional artisans in embracing new technologies, designs, and scaling up traditional weaving methods by employing ICT tools in designing, archiving, marketing and sales, thereby ensuring sustainable livelihood creation for the youth in the clusters.

At Ericsson, we have remained focused on the key areas where we believe our company and our technology can have the greatest impact on social, economic and environmental development. Moreover, we strongly believe that it takes a connected ecosystem to transform the world, and no single entity owns the Networked Society.