Great Quotes from the Social Good Summit 2017
By +SocialGood Connector Ruth Aine Tindyebwa
The Social Good Summit was awesome as always. A great line up of speakers and topics gathered to speak mainly about how tech enabled good especially geared towards the Global Goals. The Summit this year marked 8 years since it started. It always takes place year during the United Nations General Assembly Week in New York.
It is always fascinating to be in a room where everyone speaks the same language and understands and agrees with each other. The Global Goals allow us to do just that — steer in one direction, all the while — making an impact that will make this world a better place for our children’s children. They allow us to define the future, hence the hashtag #2030Now.
A lot for me stood out — there were so many take homes, things that I could relate to in so many ways. I will try to elaborate some of those take home quotes that really stood out for me:
“Everyone needs to be a goalkeeper for the #GlobalGoals.” — Jerry Li of Panda Green Energy
Also talked about by Kathy Calvin President of the United Nations Foundation — in her interview with UNICEF’s Youngest Goodwill Ambassador, it it became one of the phrases that everyone used. “Goal Keepers.” Because it is true. It is our responsibility to ‘keep’ the goals alive. That calls for proactive & consistent messaging and awareness creation about what they represent. Because the more they are out there — the more people know and identify with them. This also allows us to celebrate those that are directly involved in keeping the Global Goals in their daily work. They are the true heroes.
“We’re under the impression that we beat AIDs, that it’s done. It’s not.” Whoopi Goldberg
I come from a country that was heavily devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In Uganda — families and communities were wiped out, thousands left as orphans. And while we no longer talk that much about the scourge — it is still evident that it has not gone away. This conversation needs to be revived at a global, national, individual level. Because HIV/AIDS — the dreadful disease — still exists and there is no cure for it — yet.
“50 Million children are refugees today. They need education, water, sanitation & nutrition.” — Caryl Stern
Two South –Sudanese children joined us live from Uganda — where they are now living as refugees in a settlement camp — to share their hopes, fears and dreams. As a Ugandan - I couldn’t have been prouder. By February 2016, 79% of the refugees in Uganda were women and children according to UNHCR. Women and children are the most vulnerable refugees. That is why they ought to be taken care of. How do we do this? It is important that we come together and try to give them a little bit of normalcy in their childhood even when in refugee camps: Education, clean water and food are what they primarily need.
“No one as all the answers. But technology, the UN & the private sector can come together for Sustainability — Jeff Martin, CEO of Tribal Planet
We are all sojourners — looking for the next big thing, working had at what we love & are passionate about, giving back to community as we would love to. But we cannot do it all alone. We cannot individually answer all questions. But we can collectively make a difference. SDG 17 speaks about that — together we can do more. No man, organisation, cause is an island. Partnerships are key!
One thing is for sure — commitment is key. That is why the Social Good Summit happens: to remind us of the journey ahead but also to celebrate and give a pat on the back those who are doing something. If we do not commit and work hard at the Global Goals, we are in so many ways telling our children that we want them poorer than we are.
