The Mashable Social Good Summit Recapped in 4 Words: Create Change, Be Changed

The biggest take-away from the Mashable Social Good Summit #2030NOW had little to do with what others were doing, and everything to do with what YOU can accomplish by creating change.

“Create change, be changed” not only sounds good as a phrase to recap the summit, but is especially powerful if you break the words apart and look at them individually. To help illustrate the point, read below for the full meaning of each word, and some of the top tweets to illustrate what occurred earlier this week…

Create.

One of the most popular presentations was by Sir Richard Branson, who highlighted that

Business as Usual is No Longer an Option for Business… The choice between saving the planet & saving economy is a false choice.

In order to save the planet and save the economy, we need to CREATE better businesses with better business models that also care for the people and planet while improving the bottom line.

In this video, @RichardBranson shares his aspirations to create a better tomorrow. http://t.co/ub8FUV2A5q #2030NOW

— UN Foundation (@unfoundation) September 25, 2013

Throughout the conference, there were a myriad of tools that were presented to help people CREATE.

1. Ashoka Changemakers remains a great place to fund and grow your business.
2. The newly launched Causes.com helps people engage and move communities by helping organize activism.
3. We at MovingWorlds help social impact organizations find expert volunteers to help overcome any challenge anywhere around the world.

Change.

Attending the Social Good Summit inspires your to change. The best summary of this came from the Gates Foundations with the blog post titled: “5 Things We Hope Will Inspire Everyone to Help Change the World”

RT @gatesfoundation: Five items from #2030now that will inspire you to change the world: http://t.co/S6sUDfxzgE — Case Foundation (@CaseFoundation) September 24, 2013

Be.

Literally, the word “Be” means “to exist in actuality”. We heard a lot about what the world CAN BE and what the world WILL BE. In both cases, the essence was about our youth, as empowering them will benefit everyone’s future

“By the end of this year, 40% of the workforce will be the millennial population.” – @CatchafireCEO Rachael Chong #2030NOW — Mashable Social Good (@socialgood) September 24, 2013

RT @IshmaelBeah ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children’ #NelsonMandela #2030NOW — UNICEF (@UNICEF) September 24, 2013

While it is important to focus on the future, we must also BE in the present, and BE with our youth.

Changed.

The world has changed since last year’s social good summit. Some for the better, some for the worse. The day the summit started, atrocity struck Kenya. In a moment of resiliency, the Social Good community in Kenya still mobilized to participate in the conference from afar. It was recognized by all, including Al Gore:

Former US Vice President @Algore sends condolences to Kenya over Westgate attack #2030NOW — Isaac Ongiri (@Ongiri2) September 23, 2013

But the overarching message was not that the world has changed for the worse, it is that our people have changed for the better. And If people can be changed for the better, then so can the world. This was best represented by Malala, who, after surviving a shooting attack from the Taliban for attending school, has rallied to fight for girls’ rights for education around the world. At the summit, she announced The Malala Fund – focused on helping girls go to school and raise their voices for the right to education.

“The only thing that changed when I was shot, is that weakness, fear, and hopelessness died,” ~ @MalalaFund http://t.co/WoD8gCU075 #2030Now — Karen McAllister (@karenmcallister) September 24, 2013

Create Change, Be Changed.

The theme of #2030NOW is important, not just because it highlights the urgency that we must all feel to help heal our planet, but by working to achieve it, we change ourselves – for the better.

If you didn’t make it this year, here are 4 reasons why you have to join the conversation… the movement… next year

RT @gatesfoundation: Four reasons why the Social Good Summit is a driver for global change: http://t.co/mhz3YeF9pH #2030Now

— Rockefeller Fdn (@RockefellerFdn) September 20, 2013