This past May, a global community of innovators, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders united around a shared vision: That today’s connected generation can leverage technology and new media to help create a better world. Here is a look at the highlights of +Social Good’s first year:
1. Building the community with +SocialGood leaders Great communities need great leaders. That’s why +SocialGood enlisted the +SocialGood Advisors and Connectors to help the community grow. The +SocialGood Advisors and Connectors are leaders in their fields and regions who are dedicated to collaborating to tackle global issues and create opportunities. The growing community of Connectors and +Advisors bring perspectives from all across the world, from Nigeria to the Philippines to New York City.
2. Kicking off in Kuala Lumpur Women Deliver +SocialGood brought people together to explore how technology and new media can make a difference for women around the world. +SocialGood Advisor Esther Agbarakwe summed it up best: “Technology is the very fabric that connects us all together. It empowers us to make the right decisions about ourselves; and it allows us to hold our governments accountable as well.”
3. Exploring new ideas with development leaders… +SocialGood also brought new perspectives into the international development community. +SocialGood teamed up with the Digital Diplomacy Coalition to explore the transformative power of technology in public diplomacy; with the United Nations and the Center for Strategic and International Studies to celebrate International Youth Day; and with Devex to find ways to bring the technology and development sectors together in Spain.
4. …And empowering new allies for social good The over 175 +SocialGood events held in 2013 brought together unlikely partners to address the world’s biggest problems. Moms+Tweens+SocialGood brought together moms and their tweens to discuss their roles as global citizens. Artists, designers, educators, non-profit leaders and journalists gathered together at Brazil+Art+SocialGood to exchange ideas and discuss how social good and impact is happening through art and education in our community. And religious leaders came together in Faith+GivingTuesday+SocialGood to discuss their communities’ role in philanthropy.
5. Changing the shape of the global conversation Some of the world’s most important conversations have also been the least accessible ones. Throughout the year, the +SocialGood Community worked to ensure more voices are heard. From the World Economic Forum in Davos to G-Everyone at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland, +SocialGood connected people all over the world through Twitter chats, Google+ hangouts, and Facebook discussion brainstorm ways to solve the world’s most challenging problems and report back to world leaders.
For the last three years, the three-day Social Good Summit has sought to open the conversation around the United Nations General Assembly. This September, the Social Good Summit was celebrated with over 175 Social Good Summit Meetups worldwide joined the Summit. More than 5 million people, representing citizens from over 150 countries, joined a global conversation around social good, technology, and the world we want to see in 2030.
Join the worldwide movement supporting technology and social good! Follow the online conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and through the +SocialGood community page!