24 Hours as a Social Good Summit Blogger

By: Ryan Richmond

Towards the end of August, I was notified that I’d been selected to represent the UN Foundation as a UNA-USA youth blogger for the 2016 Social Good Summit. The high-profile summit is a joint effort between Mashable and the United Nations Development Programme. Held during UN Week, the summit took place over two days, Sept. 18-19, at the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side in New York City.

The theme of the SGS was #2030Now: What world do you want to live in by 2030? The purpose of the summit was to allow everyday citizens to add their voices to the conversations taking place at the UN headquarters for the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. Celebrities, political leaders, scientists and activists alike were gathered to discuss social good initiatives taking place around the world. Along with the other UN bloggers, I was tasked with covering the event live on social media.

Something that I can’t fail to mention is the awareness push for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are 17 goals agreed upon by 190 world leaders in 2015 to fight extreme poverty, climate change, inequality and social injustice. These goals were the focal points for many of the discussions that took place at the summit. Find out more about the SDGs here.

Every so often, you get to experience something that will  have a monumental impact on your character for the rest of your life. The SGS was one such experience for me.

Here’s a peek into the typical schedule of a Social Good Summit blogger.