Mashable Social Good Summit Archives ⋆ documama

I am thrilled to be in New York City as a United Nations Foundation Social Good Fellow this week during the historic adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. This opportunity comes through my advocacy efforts with the Shot@Life campaign to help all children around the world get access to life saving vaccines.

This new set of Global Goals continues the mission of the Millennium Development Goals that had been set in the year 2000 and expired this year. The seventeen goals are archingly broad and ambitious, but through the success of the Millennium Development Goals it is clear that with the right dedication, funding, and collaboration true progress can be made. Global poverty and under five mortality were cut in half over the past fifteen years. The world needs to maintain that momentum and learn from mistakes made along the way to do better. We have many of the solutions to pressing issues, often access to those resources is a barrier to the most remote populations. Environmental disasters and man-made conflicts hold back progress, and in many cases erase it. Experts believe that we can reverse damage to the environment if we act swiftly, and avoid worsening and more frequent natural disasters by doing so. Man made conflicts are as old as time, strong positive world leaders need to step in and take charge. When I think of the world working together towards the Sustainable Development Goals I think of Carl Sagan, and The Pale Blue Dot.

The United Nations Foundation Social Good Fellowship is designed to provide Fellows with the latest information on pressing global issues and then explore their intersection with technology. Fellows will have access to leading experts, policymakers, and opinion leaders over the course of the Social Good Fellowship. Fellows will also attend the Social Good Summit which brings together world leaders, experts, grass-roots advocates and new media and technology around creating a better world.

I am looking forward to delving deeper into the Global Goals this week as I learn more through the Social Good Fellowship, and organizations lay out their plans for working towards these goals. I remain hopeful that between today’s leadership and the next generation we will rise to the challenge of achieving these lofty goals, and leave the world a better place for generations to come.

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.

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