Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN), Africa's largest telecommunications service provider, has initiated a month-long SMS campaign throughout its operations in Africa and the Middle East aimed at garnering global support for universal access to education.The campaign is being run under the auspices of the 1Goal: Education for All initiative, a 2010 FIFA World Cup program supported by MTN, the GSM Association and other mobile operators. The 1Goal campaign seeks to accelerate access to education to 72 million children worldwide by 2015. The new campaign initiative by FIFA is also aimed at harnessing information and communication technology (ICT) in the fight for better education, especially in Africa.The SMS campaign by MTN will be available to over 123 million MTN subscribers in Africa and the Middle East.

MTN subscribers can show their support for 1Goal for free by texting their names to the support code in accordance with their country of residence. Non-MTN subscribers can sign up for the 1 Goal campaign at join1goal.org to register their support.

A similar SMS campaign by MTN on polio immunization in Africa last year spurred many parents to have their children immunized against polio. The U.N. joined forces with MTN to send SMS text messages informing millions of subscribers of the activities taking place during the campaign against the disease.

I Goal will deliver the millions of names collected through the campaign to the government's heads of the U.N. meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September.

"MTN is acutely aware of the importance of education as a catalyst for social economic development. Through 1 Goal, MTN seeks to leverage its sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to foster access to education," said Nozipho-Bardill January, MTN group executive for corporate affairs in a statement.