Mashable, 92nd Street Y and UN Foundation Present 2ND ANNUAL SOCIAL GOOD SUMMIT

NEW YORK, July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, social media and new technology have shown their power to galvanize people and change society as never before.  From the Arab Spring that was born on Facebook to fundraising relief after Japan's earthquake to political dramas played out on Twitter, recent events demonstrate the explosive impact of social media. World leaders are actively navigating this new landscape and will gather during this fall's UN Week to mobilize around innovative ways to solve our biggest global problems.  While the world's political leaders meet at the United Nations, a new set of global players will come together to build, challenge and enhance the dialogue about what's working, what's not, and what social media can do to bridge the gap between problems and solutions on the world stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nobp3n6FHU).

Rising young leaders, using new media as their primary communication and collaboration tools, are helping each other use online power for positive global change. The 2nd Annual Social Good Summit, September 19-22 (during UN Week), presented by Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, offers an open forum for dynamic new leaders, technologists, social entrepreneurs, bloggers, activists and the general public to leverage the power of new media to create a better world.  This unique event puts new players in touch with global game-changers so they can map out innovative ways to improve lives around the globe.

Conversations will take place at 92Y in New York and will be shared around the world on the web via LiveStream.com. In the Digital Media Lounge, also onsite at 92Y, journalists, bloggers, tweeters, and concerned citizens will be reporting, discussing and sharing inspiration and ideas. Last year's Social Good Summit attracted some 1,500 attendees in New York City and more than 45,000 LiveStream viewers around the world.

A wide range of speakers – media mogul and activist Ted Turner, GE's Chief Marketing Officer Beth Comstock, micro-lending pioneer Muhammad Yunus, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, Senior Adviser to Hillary Clinton Alec Ross, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel, peace activist Ronit Avni and many more – are scheduled to speak at the Summit. Among the topics under discussion are the Arab Spring, global health, human rights, women's rights, poverty alleviation, education, reinventing activism and peace in the Middle East.

"The Social Good Summit unites an extraordinary community of social entrepreneurs and new media leaders," said Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation. "They share a commitment to finding and sharing the best ways technology and media can solve the world's problems. As the world's attention turns to New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly, these voices need to be heard. The people in this audience are the ones who will help the UN address some of the globe's toughest challenges."

SCHEDULE + TICKETS

PARTICIPANTS + SPEAKERS

For the most up-to-date schedule and list of speakers, visit www.mashable.com/sgs

• Ronit Avni, founder of Just Vision, which unites and empowers grassroots, nonviolent Israeli and Palestinian activists
• Matthew Bishop, American Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief, The Economist
• Pete Cashmore, CEO and Founder, Mashable
• Beth Comstock, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of General Electric
• Ami Dar, founder of Idealist, announcing a major new initiative aimed at making it easier for people, organizations and resources to connect and move beyond good intentions to real-life actions
• David Jones, Global CEO, Havas and EURO RSGG Worldwide and Co-Founder of One Young World
• Nancy Lublin, CEO of Do Something, an Internet youth volunteer group
• Simon Mainwaring, founder and author of We First, a community of brands and consumers using social technology to create prosperity and change.
• Alec Ross, Senior Adviser for Innovation for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
• Dr. Raj Shah, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
• Ted Turner, Chairman of Turner Enterprises, Inc. and former Vice Chairman of Time Warner Inc., the world's leading media company. Turner is the founder of CNN, an environmentalist and a philanthropist who founded the UN Foundation in 1998 with his historic gift in support of the UN.
• Elie Wiesel, author, activist, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and co-founder of the Elie Wiesel Foundation, which combats intolerance and injustice through dialogue and youth-centered programs
• Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, creator of the micro-credit movement that provides loans to poor entrepreneurs and founder of the Grameen Bank

About the United Nations Foundation:  The UN Foundation connects 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 50 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.

About 92nd Street Y:  92nd Street Y is a world-class nonprofit community and cultural center that connects people at every stage of life to the worlds of education, the arts, health and wellness, and Jewish life. Through the breadth and depth of 92Y's extraordinary programs, we enrich lives, create community and elevate humanity. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y's New York City venues, and millions more join us through the Internet, satellite broadcasts and other digital media. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and enthusiastically welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. 92Y is an open door to extraordinary worlds.

SOURCE Mashable