September 30, 2011

Social Good Summit Summary

First Tweet by the First Ladies of Africa at the Social Goods Summit


Last week I attended The Social Good Summit, held in New York to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly. It was jointly hosted by Mashable, the UN Foundation, and 92nd Street Y, and was sponsored by Ericsson. Many media notables, world leaders, Nobel Prize Laureates, activists, U.S. government officials, movie stars, business leaders, bloggers, and journalists joined in on conversations on the most important and crucial, global issues.

Noticeably, the conversations lead to Africa and ultimately the focus was on the needs of Women and Girls. From Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson of the Elders each spoke of the need to appeal to religious and political leaders - for better education, to raise the status of Women, to save lives during pregnancy and childbirth - just a few of the issues facing women.

While it was promising to hear that Women were finally at the forefront of global discussions,  I was  disappointed to  not hear any mention of Uyghur Women and Children living in far western Xinjiang Province, China. Their traditions and customs are on the brink of extinction., since, Kashgar, ,the historic Silk Road city on the main trade route linking China and Europe, has been designated as “a special economic zone”

Mt. Ararat

Marla Mossman

My photo
One woman traveling alone, in search of her religious and cultural heritage.