After the Social Good Summit’s sister event in Beijing, Kate James of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sat down with Caixin’s Yonina Chan to discuss the just a few of the ways social media is serving as a force for social good in China.
While the sheer scale of social media in China is massive, (one example: Tencent boasts more than 1.2 million participants in their monthly giving program), local firms still need to get creative about using online channels to create real change on the ground.
Says James:
“{One] campaign that the Social Media [for Social Good] Alliance ran this year was around TB. The Chinese Ministry of Health was also involved in the campaign, and they reached out to all their TB officers and asked to establish their own Weibos with a view to using the Weibo to raise awareness and understanding in really remote rural areas…”
“When you think that the Ministry of Health now are saying “ok, socialmedia is the way to reach and engage,” that we’re beginning to see a much broader demographic reach than we have previously”
In her blog post for Impatient Optimists, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Kate James explains why China is a critical force in the global conversation:
“It was important to have China at the heart of the conversation, despite the obvious challenges presented by time zone differences and translation complexity. The size and scale of social media usage in China is enormous —Tencent’s WeChat platform alone boasts over 200 million users — and the commitment of Chinese social media companies to using social media for social good is unprecedented.”
One of the big takeaways from the Beijing event? Major media organizations setting aside competition to address social issues.
The newly formed Chinese Social Media for Social Good Alliance came together on multiple occasions this year… Great examples include a World TB Day campaign in March, in which the Alliance partnered with the Chinese Ministry of Health to raise awareness and encourage preventative action against the spread of TB.
Here are just a few snapshots from the event.
Olympic medalist Zhe Feng on the need to eradicate polio from the planet.
Jet Li on social media for good
Connecting Beijing with New York and Nairobi.
RenRen’s Joe Chen on technology innovation.
Xinhua correspondent Njoroge Kaburo writes the following:
Speakers examine how Somalia’s youth are using social media and technology to create opportunities for themselves and build a better future for their country
The UN-backed platform will stream live a first-of-its-kind discussion among Somali change- makers to the world from Mogadishu on Monday.
The platform, dubbed, the Social Good Summit is a global conversation on how technology and new media can be harnessed to address some of the world’s greatest challenges.
“Somali innovators, business owners, information technology experts, community activists, educators, journalists, government officials and development workers will come together to discuss how new technology is increasingly being embraced to rebuild the country,” the UNDP Communications specialist Aimee Brown said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Saturday.
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China’s Social Media for Social Good Alliance, Tsinghua University, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced the lineup for the Social Good Summit in Beijing.
The eight-hour program brings together leaders from major new media organizations, Chinese philanthropies, and international NGOs will discuss the unique role of Chinese social media for social good.
Here’s a sneak peek….
AFTERNOON SESSION (14:30- 18:00 CST)
Session One: Social Media, Connecting to the World, Connecting to the Good
- Mr. Jet Li, Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Foundation; Founder of One Foundation
- Ms. Kate James, Chief Communications Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Mr. Wenbin Yan, Director of China News for World Service Desk, Xinhua News Agency
- Ms. Feng Chen, Chief, UN Website Chinese Unit, Department of Public Information / Ms. Fang Yang, Assistant Country Director, UNDP China
Session Two: Technology Innovation and Social Good
- Mr. Bing Wang, Chairman of Ai You Foundation
- Mr. Joe Chen, CEO of RenRen Group
- Mr. Yuxiao Li, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tencent
- Mr. Jianhang Jin, Vice President of Alibaba Group
Session Three: Social Media to Serve the Community
- Mr. Feng Cheng, China Region Chief Representative, Family Health International
- Ms. Qing Hai, Oxfam Ambassador, Actress
- Mr. Zhe Feng, Men’s Horizontal Bar Champion, 2012 Olympics
- Mr. Xiaohua Ji, CEO of Guokr.com, founder of Science Squirrels
- Mr. Yongyuan Cui, Founder of Cui Yongyuan Foundation, CCTV anchor
EVENING SESSION (20:00-24:00 CST)
Session Four: New Media
- Shuxin Liang, Founder, Micro-Fundation
- Changju Xu, Leading Member, Xiaoti DaZuo Micro-philanthropy
Session Five: New Fields
- Peng Guo, Founder, imore.net
- Kui Zhou, Leading Member, NGO20.org
- Interactive Activity: Xunqian Ye, Theatre Director, Hong Kong
Session Six: New Content
- Yan Zhai, Founder, Huizeren.org.cn
- Min Shen, Leader, Black Apple Youth
- Performance: He Fan, Member, Blackapple Youth
- Interactive Activity: Xunqian Ye, Theatre Director, Hong Kong
Session Seven: Philanthropy is Responsibility
- Yunwen Shi, renren.com
- Hao Li, 56.com
- Ziyun Yang, Tencent.com
- Xiaochao Bei, Sina Weibo
- Yilei Tang, One Foundation
- Zhuo Chen, Alibaba
Mark your calendars now to watch the live stream.
