Mashable, 92nd Street Y and UN Foundation to Showcase Power of Social Media in Fighting Global Challenges (2024)

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week -- including a historic summit on global issues known as the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly -- Mashable, 92nd Street Y and UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds for a groundbreaking Social Good Summit focused on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world's most intractable problems.

Speakers will participate in person and via Skype video calls. As a media partner, CNN.com will be live-streaming select parts of the event. Participants include:

• Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and founder of Jumo, an innovative startup that aims to link millions of individuals to organizations working to change the world beginning this fall. Hughes also directed online organizing for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
• Howard W. Buffett, Policy Advisor in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President Barack Obama.
• Jessica Jackley, Co-founder of Kiva, the world's first peer-to-peer online microlending website and one of the fastest-growing social benefit websites in history.
• Judy McGrath, CEO of MTV networks, overseeing MTV, MTV2, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon among other media properties.
• Pete Cashmore, CEO/Founder of Mashable and one of the Huffington Posts' Top 10 Game Changers in 2009.
• Ray Chambers, the United Nations' Special Envoy for Malaria, and founder of "Malaria No More."
• Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of (RED), who has partnered with iconic brands like Apple and Nike to leverage the collective power of consumers and raise funds for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
• Ted Turner, the Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc. and former Vice Chairman of Time Warner Inc., the world's leading media company. He is the founder of CNN, an environmentalist and a philanthropist. Turner created the UN Foundation 1998 with his historic gift in support of the United Nations.

In contrast with official events that week, which will largely be invitation-only affairs for government leaders and official representatives, the Mashable and 92nd Street Y Social Good Summit is open to the public and will enable millions to join the conversation in person or via livestreaming.

"The Social Good Summit is a watershed moment for harnessing the potential of social media for the social good," said Sol Adler, Executive Director of 92nd Street Y. "This Summit will bring together leaders of new media and of global development for the kind of exchange that can spark collaborations of unforeseen potential."

Mashable, the Social Good Summit's lead organizer, is the top source for news in social and digital media, and 92 Street Y is the renowned nonprofit cultural and community center recognized for its commitment to the open exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Digital Media Lounge

Following the Summit, the United Nations Foundation, which advocates for the UN by providing a platform for connecting people, ideas and resources, is sponsoring the week's Digital Media Lounge from September 21-24.

Hosted at 92Y, the fully wired Digital Media Lounge will provide the on-line community exclusive access to high-level UN officials and international leaders. Newsmakers and experts in global issues and social media will talk with bloggers and journalists both in person and through a Skype video calling facility. Parts of the event will be also streamed online with Livestream.com.

There is no fee required to access the Digital Media Lounge but accreditation is necessary for access and can be obtained at http://mash.to/2hRQL.

"Digital media are driving the involvement of millions of citizens, and delivering invaluable information and knowledge for development efforts," said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the United Nations Foundation. "Through the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, we are helping make conversation about the world's biggest challenges a truly global dialogue, driven by a digital pulse."

The week's conversations will be all tied to the Millennium Development Goals. These goals set by world leaders and adopted by the United Nations in 2000, focus on massive reductions in poverty and hunger; promotion of universal primary education; gender equality; reduction in child deaths and the deaths of women in childbirth; the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and environmental sustainability.

"Every American and every world citizen has a stake in advancing the MDGs," said Kathy Calvin of the United Nations Foundation. "Yet many people are still looking for ways to have a positive impact. By coming together in partnership, we can make this happen. And when we do, the world will be a better place."

About the UN Foundation: The UN Foundationconnects 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 the UN take its best work and ideas to scale -- through advocacy, partnerships, constituency building and fund-raising.

About Mashable: Founded in 2005, Mashable is the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture. With more than 30 million monthly page views, Mashable is the most prolific news site reporting breaking web news, providing analysis of trends, reviewing new Web sites and services, and offering social media resources and guides. Mashable's audience includes early adopters, social media enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, influencers, brands and corporations, marketing, PR and advertising agencies, Web 2.0 aficionados and technology journalists. Mashable is also popular with bloggers, Twitter and Facebook users -- an increasingly influential demographic.

About 92nd Street Y: 92nd Street Y's unique fusion of community and culture makes it the only place of its kind in the world. 92Y is a community center, performance stage and lecture hall; a literary salon and home for artists; a school, outreach organization and summer camp; a gym, a residence and more. 92nd Street Y, a proudly Jewish institution since its inception in 1874, has become a community of communities, welcoming people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds. Now serving more than 300,000 people each year in its New York facilities, 92Y also reaches millions of "virtual" guests around the world through its website, satellite broadcasts and other electronic media. Committed to making its programs available to everyone, 92nd Street Y awards nearly $1 million in scholarships annually and reaches about 7500 public school children through subsidized arts and science education programs. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org.

SOURCE Social Good Summit; Digital Media Lounge