The Social Good Summit
Merging technological innovations with the pursuit of social change, Mashable, The UN Foundation and 92Y hosted the 2nd annual Social Good Summit this week. The four-day event features celebrities, world leaders, tech influencers, and activists, all with the united cause of promoting the use of technology for a greater good.
Founded in 2005, Mashable is the largest independent news source focusing on how new media can motivate people on a global scale. Using the internet as a media tool in now the most effective way to mobilize a cause, and it is vital to use gain further support for animal rescue and fairness.
The summit included inspiring insight from Nobel Laureate, Elie Wiesel, and actor, Richard Gere. On two separate days, Gere and Wiesel both confessed to being luddites, people typically opposed to such innovation, while discovering the positive nature of new technologies. Wiesel sat down with Mashable founder, Pete Cashmore, synthesizing concept of ancient values and media innovation. Wiesel raised concerns asking “How do you prepare the human being not to use technology for the wrong reasons?”
So, how do we ensure that the internet is used for the greater good of animals? More importantly, how can we stop other’s from using such technology to the detriment of animals without a voice of their own? The following day, Gere spoke to similar concerns and cited that the universal motivation for good and alignment with others, will yield power for positive change. In the end, Gere advises that “all you can be sure about is your own motivation, and a basic trust that things are going to work out.” Despite not knowing what a tweet is, Gere astutely states that this is about “a sense of really feeling interconnectedness… We are a universal family, and everything else is superficial.”
Skype CEO Tony Bates spoke on how Skype is influencing educational phenomenas, mainly bringing classrooms access to environments they would not otherwise observe. Bates states that “rich, wonderful experiences, that really could never take place thousands of miles away from each other.” This is would be a similarly vital tool in educating children and adults about animal fairness advocacy.
While held in New York, this summit is reaching global audiences through broadcasting on LiveStream and allowing contributing insight via Twitter. For more information, videos, and access to the Social Good Summit visit LiveStream and the #socialgood trending topic on Twitter.