Social Good Summit, a call to action

by Rina Zelaya M.

A few weeks ago I read a small, yet interesting, piece in PR/CC´s weekly newsletter, it was about the upcoming Social Good Summit (SGS) that was to take place in NYC – one of the most dynamic cities in the world. I had heard about the SGS throughout the years but had never been able to be in the right place and time throughout its different editions. Nevertheless, this time everything seemed to fall into place so I jumped into the experience, not knowing very much what to expect and what I was to learn through it.

The city, of course, did not disappoint. But the best part was that the Summit surpassed my expectations, not only by the general event logistics, but also by its primary theme and line of communication. The Summit presented to the world seventeen goals that should focus our energy and attention for the next fifteen years; the goals aim at reducing inequality and injustice, ending extreme poverty and finding solutions to climate change.

What struck me most was the fact that these goals were not devised for political correctness or for the mere sake of entertaining politicians and diplomats.

In fact, these goals reflected the current world situation and the need to start solving problems from their origin, rather than dancing around them without carefully thought solutions. Seventeen goals can indeed be intimidating, however they represent a giant step in the right direction.

Nonetheless, throughout the Summit and as each of the goals was explained a key message came across: these problems are everyone´s responsibility and everyone can and should get involved. Getting involved does not mean leaving your life and profession behind for a cause (though, it may be a way). Getting involved means choosing that goal that you identify yourself the most with and looking for platforms that are already working and to which you can contribute with your skills, knowledge time, or… money. The important thing is that we can no longer remain indifferent; we can no longer say we did not know. In a world as interconnected as our own, social media is a powerful voice for information to reach everyone and for all of us to get involved.

The big question now is: what do you dream about for 2030? How are you contributing to achieve this dream? 

I highly encourage you to read more about the seventeen goals for the next fifteen years and to actively engage in achieving one of them; it is through a shared commitment that we will achieve them. To read more about the SGS, visit here, and to find out about the seventeen new goals go here.