The intersection of technology and new media has redefined our understanding of human progress while shaping our vision of the future. Held annually during the United Nations General Assembly week, the Social Good Summit unites a lively community of global citizens and progressive thought leaders around a common theme: #2030NOW. A dynamic exploration of the world we want to live in by 2030, the Social Good Summit is focusing this year on how we can unlock technology’s potential to make the world a better place.

In its fifth year in Beirut, The Social Good Summit organized by UNDP Lebanon, has focused its debate around the all important topic of fake news, which has had a very dangerous impact on social stability globally while also tackling the issue of social media freedom and boundaries.

The Summit debates moderated by Mr Ziad Abdel Samad, the Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) covered also the impact of corruption on Economic recovery, and discussed the role of youth and private sector in raising awareness about the economic impact of corruption.

In her opening speech Mrs Celine Moyroud, UNDP Country Director, stressed on the importance of the youth “the leaders of tomorrow” as a catalyst for positive change and “the main drive of enhancement of nations.”

When discussing freedom of expression in social media social influencer Gino Raidy said “I’ve been blogging for over nine years, in which I was called twice to the Office of Information Crime and my blog was censored in a third incident,” said Raidy. “Instead of keeping track of peoples’ opinions we should focus our efforts on targeting fake news – which is not information we don’t agree with, but rather information that an elementary student can distinguish as fake, but we can’t because of our prejudices.”

The summit was attended by more than 200 students, bloggers, and activists, and held at Teatro Verdun in Beirut on Wednesday 26th of September 2018

The Summit is hosting throughout this week, global thought leaders, new media and technology experts, grassroots activists, and influential voices from around the globe, and in around 100 countries, in order to showcase the voices and ideas of an international community of concerned citizens.