The United Nations Foundation, Mashable and 92Y Prizes for the Second Annual Social Well-Being Summit in New York

The United Nations Foundation, Mashable and 92Y Prizes for the Second Annual Social Well-Being Summit in New York
New York. NY  10/6/2011

Dominican First Lady, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, received recognition for her commitment and efforts in democratizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through the Technology Communication Centers (TCC) as well as for promoting new media strategies being used to find innovative solutions to the challenges facing people and societies with limited economic resources.

The prize is being given by the United Nations Foundation, Mashable and the 92nd Street Y, organizations the First Lady thanks for their commitment and work in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through TCCs.

The prize is being given by the United Nations Foundation, Mashable and the 92nd Street Y, organizations the First Lady thanks for their commitment and work in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) through TCCs.

Cedeño de Fernández said recognizing the power of the ICTs, for which she continues to work hard so that people in the rural areas have access, and using these tools to empower women to generate their own income, is the important reason for democratizing access to Information and Communication Technology. “We have to confront the reality of our country and ICTs help us to amplify our policies and development,” she said.

“We have a financial, food, energy and environmental crisis,” said Cedeño de Fernández. “As you can see, we have lots of crises but we also have opportunities. Crises are opportunities we use to make improvements.” She stressed the importance of ethic and moral values to confront and overcome the current crisis.

She added that the event is very important and she hopes to be able to participate next year in the ceremony. “I will always have you in my heart, iPad and BlackBerry,” concluded the First Lady.

The 2011 Social Well-Being Summit in New York is organized by the United Nations Foundation, Mashable, one of the most important digital media sites in the area of New Media and ICTs, the 92nd Street Y and the Cultural and Community Center of the City of New York. The objective is to promote dialogue, strategies and the use of new media to promote social change around the world as well as to incentivize empowerment and activism in every individual on the planet.

The activity brought together world leaders to discuss the topic, “The Power of Ideas and Innovative Technology to Meet our Challenges.” The summit was held during the week of the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations in the Kaufman Concert Hall.

Others attending the Summit included innovative technicians, bloggers and influential activists, all of whom had one thing in common: to liberate the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place.

Some important individuals also attended the event including Madame Tobeka Zuma, founder of the Tobeka Zuma Foundation; Director General Of Spectrum of East Africa, Dr. Ida Odinga; from Grameen Bank, Dr. Muhammad Yunus; Editor and NY Office Director of The Economist, Bishop Mateo; writer, speaker and businessman, Peter Sims; Director General of Skype, Tony Bates; co-founder and executive producer of “One Day on Earth” Brandon Litman; chief of the Video Unit of the UN Development Program (UNDP), Boaz Paldi.

Other notables in attendance were ThinkFoodGroup Chef, José Andrés; Executive Director of the World Alliance for Clean Kitchens, Radha Muthiah; Dr. Richard Besser, Editor of Medicine and Health of ABC News; David Muir, ABC World News weekend anchor; Chang Juju correspondent of 20/20 and Nightline and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson was also there along with Lisa Witter, Director of the Fenton Strategy; Ronit Ovni, founder and director of Just Vision; assistant professors of Communication and Media at New York University, Helga Tawil-Souri and Leibovitz Liel; Communications Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Kate James; main researcher for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta and mother and businesswoman, Winegar Chrysula, among others..