A Global Save the Date: Announcing the 2012 Social Good Summit, September 22-24

In every corner of the world, more and more people are using digital tools and technologies to connect around and transform the challenges and opportunities of today’s most critical global issues. What would happen if all these individuals came together as one community to act on their ideas?  From September 22 to 24, the 2012 Social Good Summit will convene just such a historic event.

Brought to you by Mashable, 92nd Street Y, the United Nations Foundation, Ericsson, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme, the third annual Social Good Summit will showcase the unparalleled results of citizens uniting around one shared goal: to unlock the potential of social media and technology to make the world a better place.

“With social media comes the promise and responsibility of social good.  As a bottom up medium, social media empowers people to share and act together on the issues that matter most to their communities,” said Pete Cashmore, CEO & Founder of Mashable.

Since its inauguration in 2010, the Social Good Summit has become the go-to venue for conversations during UN Week on using social media and technology for good.  From mobile phones for development to women leading the digital world and social movements for global health, few topics go untouched at the summit.

“There is no other technology in existence that can harness the power of collective voices the way today’s broadband networks can.  Ericsson understood the value of this partnership early on, and is pleased to join the Social Good Summit again this year. Together we aim for concrete outcomes and our overall goal of making Technology for Good a reality,” said Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.

LEADING VOICES IN SOCIAL GOOD

Speakers confirmed to present as part of this year’s line-up include:

•    Pete Cashmore, CEO & Founder, Mashable
•    Hans Vestberg, CEO, Ericsson
•    Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
•    Nicholas Kristof, NY Times columnist & Pulitzer Prize winner
•    Forest Whitaker, Artist & UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
•    Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute & Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General
•    Wendy Harman, Director of Social Strategy, American Red Cross
•    Deepak Chopra, NY Times bestselling Author and Founder, The Chopra Foundation
•    Josh Nesbit, CEO, Medic Mobile
•    Todd Park, United States Chief Technology Officer
•    Ramy Raoof, Egyptian blogger and human rights defender
•    Fabien Cousteau, 3rd Generation Ocean Explorer and Founder, Plant A Fish
•    Kathy Calvin, CEO, UN Foundation
•    TMS “Teddy” Ruge, Cofounder, Project Diaspora
•    Asi Burak, Co-President, Games for Change
•    Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic & Founder, Mission Blue
•    David Kobia, Co-Founder & Director of Technology Development, Ushahidi

* Additional speakers will be announced each week in the lead-up to the event.

Along with an impressive line-up of speakers, the biggest voice at the 2012 Social Good Summit will be you.  On Monday, September 24, people everywhere will have a chance to be part of the first ever Global Conversation.  From every corner of the world – from your neighborhood to Nairobi, Beijing, Manila, Tbilisi, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles and beyond – you and others like you will have the chance to discover and share ways that new technology and social medias can tackle problems in individual communities.

The Global Conversation will be made uniquely possible by activating the UN Development Programme’s 160+ offices around the world, Ericsson’s vast global infrastructure, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s worldwide network, and Mashable’s Meetups Everywhere community. Using #SGSGlobal, anyone, anywhere can contribute their own stories and solutions. The ideas collected on this historic day will be shared globally, laying the groundwork for ongoing dialogue throughout the coming year.

“At 92Y, we are strong believers in the power of digital technology and social media to redefine community on a global scale,” said Sol Adler, Executive Director, 92nd Street Y. “We are pleased to host this historic global community gathering and to empower communities around the world to share their knowledge and ideas for the benefit of all.”

NEW PARTNERS

Building on the success of previous editions of the Social Good Summit, Mashable, 92Y, the UN Foundation, and Ericsson are pleased to announce two new partners as part of the 2012 event: the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  UNDP will focus on deepening the summit’s relationship with people around the world working on UN issues. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will extend the conversation well beyond September, helping empower the summit’s community to drive real change.

“New technology allows us to share ideas and information in ways which were unthinkable just a few short years ago,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. “The Social Good Summit enables a global conversation on how to create a better world, providing a unique opportunity to discuss how to eradicate extreme poverty.”

“Every day, we are in conversations where people ask how they can get involved,” said Kate James, Chief Communications Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Social media and new technologies provide us with vital tools to help bridge the gap between people’s desire to help, and their ability to take action. We believe that the community that’s grown up around the Social Good Summit has the talent, passion, and expertise to bring those tools to bear against some of the world’s most pressing problems. We’re excited to learn from the work they are already doing, and to take on new challenges together going forward.”

JOIN US

“Each of us realizes that there are more than enough development challenges to address,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “By participating in this year’s Social Good Summit, you are joining a movement of people whose commitment to a better world grows stronger by the minute.  We can all be part of the community that works with the UN to make change possible.  This is more than an event, it’s a moment where each of us can help make history.”

To register and get weekly updates on this year’s exciting program, go to www.socialgoodsummit.com.

###

About Mashable: Mashable is a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable’s 20 million unique visitors and 6 million social media followers have become one of the most engaged online news communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.

About 92nd Street Y: 92nd Street Y is a world-class nonprofit community and cultural center that connects people at every stage of life to the worlds of education, the arts, health and wellness, and Jewish life. Through the breadth and depth of 92Y’s extraordinary programs, we enrich lives, create community and elevate humanity. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y’s New York City venues each year, and millions more join us through the Internet, satellite broadcasts and other digital media. A proudly Jewish organization since it’s founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and enthusiastically welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives.

About the United Nations Foundation: The UN Foundation connects people, ideas and resources to help the United Nations solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. We are an advocate for the UN and help take its best work to scale through advocacy, partnerships, constituency building and fundraising.

About Ericsson: Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of communications technology and services. We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that allow us all to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable societies around the world. Our offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information and Communications Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today more than 40 percent of the world’s mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks and we support customers’ networks servicing more than 2 billion subscribers. We operate in 180 countries and employ more than 100,000 people. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 the company had revenues of SEK 226,9 billion (USD 35.0 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

About UNDP: The UN Development Programme partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

Press Contacts:

Kaitlyn Rawlett, Burson-Marsteller
kaitlyn.rawlett@bm.com
212.614.4164

Sarah Morton, 92Y
Email: smorton@92y.org 

Lexie Riegelhaupt, Mashable
Email: lexie@mashable.com

Aaron Sherinian, UN Foundation
Email: asherinian@unfoundation.org

Kathy Egan, Ericsson
Email: kathy.egan@ericsson.com

Boaz Paldi, UNDP
boaz.paldi@undp.org

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
media@gatesfoundation.org