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The Social Good Summit in NYC 2013 #2030NOW

The Social Good Summit in NYC 2013 #2030NOW

Elizabeth Atalay at Social Good Summit 2013

 I was enraptured a couple of weeks ago as I soaked in information at the three-day  Social Good Summit in NYC sponsored by Mashable, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 92Y, the United Nations Foundation, United Nations Development Program, and Ericsson .  This to me is what being front row at the Super Bowl or The Oscars would be for others. The summit  coincided with both the United Nations General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative, and so the city was abuzz with global leaders, humanitarians, media, and advocates, and the vibe was infectious.

The Social Good Summit is a three-day conference where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week from September 22-24, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. The most innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will come together with one shared goal: to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.- www.Mashable.com/SGS 

To kick off the conference World Moms Blog founder Jennifer Burden hosted a pre-game dinner party the night before for World Moms Blog editors & contributors in from out-of-town. Wave Bars sponsored our travel into the city the next day and kindly supplied us with a treat basket including a cache of their healthful snack bars for sustenance. To make us feel fully feted the creator of Dragonfly Designs had sent over a basket of gorgeous custom wine glasses, “Eat,Drink,Blog” perfect for our evening, and to get us going the next morning for a packed conference schedule.

Elizabeth Atalay w/ World Moms Blog Crew

Bright and early Sunday morning a Wave bar served as breakfast on the train into NYC to take part in the RUN10FEED10 10K with fellow Shot@Life Champion Myrdin Thompson, and my cherished childhood friend Maria. This was my first 10k and I could not have done it without their company.   I loved the idea that between Maria, Myrdin and I, we started off the morning of the Social Good Summit having donated 30 meals with the run, while providing life saving vaccines, and supporting Parkinson’s Research by using the Charity Miles app we used. All before 9am. I knew that both Gene Gurkoff, Founder of Charity Miles, and Lauren Bush Lauren, Founder of FEED projects (two people I greatly admire!) would be speaking later that week at the summit.Elizabeth Atalay at theRun 10 Feed10

Each day in fact, for the following three days, many of the people whose work I admire most took the stage and elucidated us further on the impact we can all have for social good, on emerging technologies, and best practices leading the way.  The speaker line-up was star-studded (for the humanitarian world) and included  Melinda Gates, Richard Branson, Al Gore and Malala Yousafazai, and tackled ending poverty by 2030, food security, Global health, and how mobile technology is transforming our world.  Speakers ranged from humanitarian celebrities such as will.i.am, founders of inspiring NGO’s and non-profits, representatives from UNICEF and the World Food Program to HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway. The full list of speakers and their topics can be found on the Mashable site. Each panel offered hope, solutions and actions toward the universal goal of ending extreme poverty by  the year 2030 (hence the hashtag), and tackling the multifactorial root causes collectively.

A couple of my favorite snapshots include the National Geographic photographer Marcus Bleasdale calling us all out for using technologies that have conflict zones minerals in them. With his photographs he documented mineral mines where lives are lost for the necessary elements found in our cell phones, iPads and cameras. He urged us all to be more conscientious consumers, and let companies know that we will not purchase products produced in an environment that is harmful to others. An important message for a room full of social media producers.  Jessica O. Mathews demonstrated the soccer ball that she invented with her company Uncharted Play, Inc., that harnesses power during play. To me her brilliant design was such a hopeful example of how young people are creatively solving the challenges we  face. And Sir Richard Branson pointed out that the choice between saving the planet or saving our economies is a false choice. Al Gore would later expand on that calling the climate reality the most pressing challenge to the survival of human civilization as we know it.

#2030 Now

Jessica O. Mathews, Marcus Bleasdale, and Sir Richard Branson

As electric as the energy was inside the 92Y, some of the highlights for me occurred outside of the summit itself, such as  meeting our World Moms Blog Tanzanian contributor Nancy Sumari. Attending a roundtable lunch session with ONE, the Gates Foundation, and Save the Children focused on the Syrian refugee crisis and tackling the MDG’s.  Joining other bloggers at a dinner meeting with WaterAid where we heard an update on implementing running water in the Madagascar schools several of us have written about.  Attending a ONE.org panel at the United Nations on Millennial Factivism, and an inspiring blogger breakfast with (RED) to discuss upcoming products that help fund the fight against AIDS. Gathering in person with so many of the amazing people that share my passion for raising awareness and striving towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals, and the true possibility of ending extreme poverty by 2030. I am still processing all of the information that came home with me, in what feels like unpacking a duffle bag stuffed with the whole world of issues. One by one I aim to pull them out, and write.

LtoR: WMB Tanzania contributor Nancy Sumari, Carolyn Miles CEO of Save the Children, Nicole Melancon Third Eye Mom, Jennifer Barbour Another Jennifer, the author, Phil Carroll  of Save the Children

LtoR: WMB Tanzania contributor Nancy Sumari, Carolyn Miles CEO of Save the Children, Nicole Melancon of Third Eye Mom, Jennifer Barbour of Another Jennifer, the author & Phil Carroll Save the Children Media & Communications

Social Good Summit in NYC

Social Good Summit in NYC

The Author with colleagues from ONEMoms, World Moms Blog and Fundraise.com outside the Media Lounge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Social Good Summit is a three-day conference where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week from September 22-24, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. The most innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will come together with one shared goal: to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.” -Mashable.com/sgs

I was thrilled to be able to catch a glimpse of the Social Good Summit held in New York City this past week.   I  came away feeling hopeful and inspired by both the content being presented, and the amazing people so passionately involved in making the world a better place.  I only wished for more time to attend all of the fascinating panels and talks, but was happy to be there even briefly to soak in the collaborative energy that comes of so many people with common goals gathering in one spot. The summit was sponsored by Mashable, the U.N. Foundation, The Gates Foundation, Ericsson, UNDP and the 92nd street Y where it was held.  A range of global issues were highlighted along with the way in which social media can play a role.  The Social Good Summit ran concurrently with The Clinton Global Initiative and U.N. Week, bringing NYC even more than its usual buzz of  humanitarians, activists, media and diplomats.

My colleagues from World Moms Blog, founder Jennifer Burden and World Voice Editor Nicole Melancon had pre-registered for press passes into the Clinton Global Initiative as well where they were able to live tweet and blog about the speeches given by the entire Clinton family, Mitt Romney, and Barak Obama!  The first thing I did upon arrival was head to mid-town to try to get a walk on Documama press pass to the Clinton Global Initiative.  I was not granted access, and it totally felt like being denied at the velvet rope, but was so worth the try!  The Social Good Summit had a line-up of powerhouses in their own right, like Jane Goodall, Nick Kristof, Anthony Lake of UNICEF and Gabriel Jaramillo of the Global Fund, among many other great names.  Although I was unable to view all of the speakers,  they were all live streamed by Mashable.com so that anyone who wished to hear them could .  On site, such revolutionary speakers addressing the audience charged the rooms at the 92nd street Y with excitement and hope.

As a prelude to the upcoming ONEMoms trip to Ethiopia a group of  ONEMoms members and community partners in town for the summit got together for dinner at Red Rooster Harlem .   ONEMoms blogger, philanthropist and model, Maya Haile Samuelsson, will be traveling to Ethiopia with ONEMoms in October. Her husband Marcus Samuelsson is the Chef and Owner of Red Rooster, so it was a natural choice, but it also happens to be one of the hippest spots in the city. We dined on Red Rooster favorites such as Helga’s Meatballs, and dessert of decadent Sweet Potato Doughnuts. Our favorite cocktail was called the “Yes, Chef” and takes its’ name from Marcus Samuelssons’ recently released memoir titled “Yes, Chef”. (which I had read and loved!)

Next year I plan to make it a point to set aside time to attend the entire Social Good Summit, in the mean time I am filtering through the plethora of innovative ideas and exciting programs being executed by presenters and attendees of the conference.  A couple of cool programs that debuted this week were the Shot@Life  Moments Matter mobile App and the Half the Sky Facebook game.  The Shot @ Life Moments Matter Mobile App helps you track your childs’ milestones from ages 0-5 through your photos and entries, while building awareness about the Shot@Life campaign that helps to give children around the world a shot at a healthy life. The Half The Sky Facebook Game  is a compelling way to do global good by helping to empower women by unlocking real world donations while playing the game.  These are great examples of ways in which social media can be harnessed and put to good use.  The three way live global chat at the Social Good Summit between Nairobi, Beijing and New york highlighted how technology can bring the world together. We need to keep developing new ways to use social media to bring the world together for the greater good of mankind, and for me the 2012 Social Good Summit was a great place to start.