The 2015 Istanbul Social Good Summit was organized in Marriott Hotel (Şişli) on October 9th. It was co-organized by UNDP in Turkey and UNDP in Europe and Central Asia (Regional Hub) with the main sponsoring of Türk Telekom. In line with the official launch of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015, the Social Good Summit’s theme was ‘’#2030NOW: what type of world do I want to live in by the year 2030?”. The event aimed at raising awareness about the new Global Goals and to highlight the use of technology and digital tools in order to create social good and to reach the SDGs objectives by 2030. The Summit also served as the launch of the new publication, “Innovation in the age of the Sustainable Development Goals” – a review of UNDP’s innovation work in Europe and Central Asia.
The program was composed of 3 panels (Media / Innovation / Technology in the Age of Global Goals) along with the intervention of several leaders developing innovative, social good-oriented projects. Among the speakers were taking the floor : UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey, Kamal Malhotra, Twitter Turkey’s Emine Etili, Facebook Turkey’s Nilay Erdem, Singer-songwriter Harun Tekin, BBC journalist Selin Girit, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Gulsin Onay, and Actor Mert Firat.