24 Sep 2013

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone.

This was said by UNDP Resident Representative Mr Anders Pedersen on  September 23 at the Botswana Social Good Summit meet-up in Gaborone. Mr Pedersen said UNDP has a presence in 177 countries and territories and it offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nationals.

“The Social Good Summit offers a unique opportunity to discuss how to eradicate extreme poverty which is the mandate of the UNDP within the United Nations system. UNDP hosts and collaborates with diverse stakeholders to ensure that more people get involved in this global conversation and help communities cross the digital divide,” he said.

Mr Pedersen said the emergence of new media gives UNDP an opportunity to support the development and use of new media, including grass-root developed technologies that aim at bettering the lives of people in Botswana.

He said this is done through and in partnership with the government of Botswana and other stakeholders.
He revealed that last year the UNDP hosted more than 40 Social Good Summit meet-ups in countries across the globe. “More than 60 countries, including Botswana, are participating this year, bringing communities into the global conversation.

“In many places the UNDP’s meet-ups are bridging the digital divide and giving a voice to people whoever and wherever they are,” said Mr Pedersen. He further revealed that this year countries as diverse and far-flung as Afghanistan, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Rwanda and Zimbabwe are all participating in what promises to be one of the largest conversations of its kind.

Mr Pedersen said Social Good’s creation was inspired by the Social Good Summit, a unique three day conference held annually during United Nations General Assembly week, aimed at opening dialogue around the UN General Assembly to citizens of the world. He said the Social Good Summit is a global community of innovators, social entrepreneurs and thought leaders united around a shared vision.

“It leverages the power of technology and new media to make the world a better place through a dynamic mix of online connections and real world events. The Social Good Summit will provide a place where connectors can collaborate, share best practices, influence local and global agendas and find new ways to translate their vision into action,” said Mr Pedersen.

He said the meet-up in Botswana, which was held under the theme ‘promoting the use of grass-root developed technologies to improve the livelihoods of Batswana’ will provide a chance to explore opportunities available for identifying, developing and investing in technologies developed by local people to address local challenges.

Welcoming remarks, the chief executive officer of Botswana Innovation Hub, Mr Alan Boshwaen, expressed gratitude that most of the participants were youth. ENDS