Making The World A Better Place By 2030: What Will You Do?
It’s difficult to sum up The Social Good Summit in one blog post. If you’ve ever attended the Summit you'll understand the enormity of what impassioned world leaders, activists and entrepreneurs present to an enthusiastic audience gathered in Manhattan, and streamed in over 70 countries, about global initiatives to make the world a better place by 2030.
Issues about eradicating poverty and disease, gender inequality, damage to the environment, girls rights, global health, human rights, youth development and education, holding governments accountable, maternal health, infant mortality and how social media can be leveraged to benefit people worldwide are topics that have been dancing through my subconscious since I left Manhattan.
(L to R from top to bottom): Women Power, #2030How?, The Carter Center, knitted squares for maternal and newborn health, Idris Alba for One.org, Pharrell for FOHTA
As a mother, it’s important for me to do what I can to leave the world a better place for my son and for his generation. Of course each panelist who spoke during the six hours I sat in my seat moved me, but I was particularly drawn to the younger generation who are so passionate about creating a better world for themselves and for future generations.
- Pharrell spoke about his “Happy” efforts with FOHTA (From One Hand To The Other), his non-profit organization that brings educational tools to children to prepare them to succeed in the world.
- Tara Abrahams, President of Girl Rising, spoke about the global movement and film of the same name whose mission is to educate and empower girls, and is now expanding into Nigeria, India and the Republic of Congo.
- Bassam Aramin who, after being imprisoned at age 17 in Israel, cofounded Combatants for Peace, an organization made up of Israelis and Palestinians using non-violent means in the struggle against occupation. (The panel he was on was named after the movie “Beyond Right and Wrong." Each panelist lost a loved one to violence. Their movement and their movie tell stories about trying to find ways to heal and find forgiveness toward each other. Remarkable. Here is the link to the trailer and movie.)
- Jampa was born in a small village in Tibet and was the first to graduate from college. Since then she’s improved lives of hundreds through her literacy development projects. She is committed to giving a voice to invisible women and young girls, empowering them to follow their dreams.
- Jensine Larsen is an award-winning social media entrepreneur and founder of World Pulse. The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recommends joining World Pulse as, “One of the top 4 things you do in 10 minutes to support women globally.”
- Sarah Khimijee, Teen Advisor to Girl Up, a UN Foundation campaign giving American girls an opportunity to become global leaders by using their energies to raise awareness and funds for UN programs. These programs help to reach girls living in underdeveloped regions.
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Expecting her second child, Alicia Keyes posed nude for this photo to kick off her new campaign
- Alicia Keyes kicked off her "We Are Here" movement to engage people to rally for stricter gun laws, criminal justice reform, and to bring about social justice for many causes. She is asking fans to support 12 specific groups from "Keep a Child Alive" to "Trayvon Martin Foundation" to "All Out", a gay rights organization. Read Nicholas Kristof's piece on it, and then be amazed that she announced she's donating $1M to be divided up 12 ways.
- Idris Alba taking a pledge to make the world better. (My apologies that my video (below) is a bit shaky. I guess I was excited by how gorgeous and inspirational Idris was in person!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghZAuHuk9ig&feature=youtu.be
“Child marriage is a human rights issue with implications of the 6 MDG’s. It’s a human rights issue, but also an education and a health issue. It affects everything.” ~Graca Machel
“War and conflict is very disempowering on women and girls.” ~Helen Clark on her visit to refugees in Lebanon
“Gender data is important. If girls don’t have a birth certificate, how do we know how many are marrying as children?” ~Kathy Calvin on children getting married in underdeveloped countries
“With rehydration and antibiotics, Ebola could have a 50% survival rate.” ~Helen Clark
Issues about women and girls seemed to be a main focus of the Summit, and I particularly enjoyed one called “Women Power. Empowered Women” made up of Graca Machel (children’s right advocate, Mozambican humanitarian and widow of Nelson Mandela), Helen Clark (first woman elected as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Administrator, UN Development) and Kathy Calvin (CEO, UN Foundation), as well as the “HeForShe” campaign led by UN Women (with Emma Watson as Global Goodwill Ambassador and co-led by Wolf Blitzer) encouraging men worldwide to speak out against the inequalities faced by women and girls.
I encourage you to check out Mashable’s Social Good Summit website to read more about what took place at the Summit. We can create a better world together, because only through joined communities can we have a world that will build each other up instead of tearing each other down.
What will you do to make the world a better place by 2030? Use #2030NOW to add your voice to the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
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