Blog

UNA-USA Hosts Nationwide Conference Call with
UN Foundation Board Member and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus

The Social Good Summit starts tomorrow, and the buzz is building. From child and maternal health to disaster relief to cybersecurity, we’ll be discussing some of the biggest issues facing the planet and how technology and social media can be part of the solution.

Sophie Blackall, a renowned illustrator – check out her recent artwork in the NYC Subway – recently returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo(checkout her travel journal), where she got a first-hand view of children’s health with the Measles and Rubella Initiative.

UNA-USA and the U.S. Department of State are giving one U.S. student the chance of a lifetime; a chance to see the United Nations in action, in person, during the UN General Assembly and other high-profile UN events.

Talking about how to use social media for social good is one of our favorite conversations at the UN Foundation. At the upcoming 2012 Social Good Summit, we’ll be taking this conversation global – discussing how to use technology and social media for change with leaders, innovators, activists, technology experts and others around the world!

Each year the United Nations General Assembly marks an opportunity for global leaders to gather in New York to address and take action against some of the world’s most pressing issues. But for those not attending the conference, it can be difficult to find a meaningful way to participate in U.N. week and offer ideas from our own communities.

As it currently stands the mHealth (mobile phones for health) field is fairly fragmented. The term “thousand flowers bloom” is a commonly coined phrase at this point. This is a far leap from where we were not too long ago–Where conference goers and thought leaders in the mHealth community were advocating on the power of mobile technology as a global health solution.

Welcome to the first September edition of In Case You Missed It. Between the start of the school year, the return of football and getting through the daily to-do list, it can be a busy time of year. Here’s a quick rundown of news you may have missed.

This year, on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, the UN Foundation has joined a host of great partners who are helping to launch a new movement called #GivingTuesday – a day to celebrate giving and encourage more, better and smarter giving during the Holiday Season.

Did you know that 1.3 billion people – one in five globally – have no access to electricity? Some 95% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia. The world’s poorest are already paying the most as a proportion of their household income for inadequate, dangerous and unhealthy sources of energy.