Yesterday I had the honor of attending Mashable’s Social Good Summit, an event designed to foster the connection between global leaders, tech innovation, and the world’s biggest challenges. The Summit has brought some of the brightest humanitarians and tech innovators under one roof at NYC’s 92Y. Day one was full of creative ideas, interesting stories, and funny remarks – see some of the most important takeaways from the summit below.
We’re living at a time where anyone can be a diplomat. All you have to do is hit send. -Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State
Possibilities of technology and innovation to fight poverty are infinite. -Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Technology helps us be accountable and transparent. -Kathy Calvin, CEO of United Nations Foundation
Data by itself is useless. It becomes useful only if you apply it. -Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer of the United States
Social media is not about the number of followers. It’s about reaching out to the community. -Victoria Esser, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy, U.S. State Department
You have to be ready to take risks… 21st century is a terrible time to be a control freak. -Victoria Esser
Technology exists not for technology’s sake. It’s about what you do with it to improve health, education, and the like… Ultimate goal is that everyone in the world has access to knowledge, can create it and share it. -Dr. Hamadoun Touré., Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union
Young people shouldn’t accept being told that you’re the leaders of tomorrow. You are the leaders of today. -Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director of Greenpeace
The Internet cannot be controlled. And that’s why is so powerful. -Peter Gabriel, Singer & Human Rights Activist
If you want to know more about some of the concrete examples of how tech innovation has been used for the social good, definitely take a look at the following:
- Purpose, which uses the collective power of millions of citizens to help solve problems. At SGS, Purpose’s Alnoor Ladha spoke about The Rules, a new global movement that address the sources of poverty using mobile phones.
- Google Earth Outreach, started by Google’s engineer Rebecca Moore, who has used Google Maps to save an old-growth forest in California, and made it possible to save coral reefs through satellite maps
Looking forward to hearing more at the summit tomorrow and contributing to the global conversation! Follow my live tweets from #SGSGlobal on Twitter (@whereisksenia).




You have chosen really good statements! Clever girl!
You have chosen really good statements, clever girl!
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