Rio+Social: social media must ‘defriend’ the waste of Earth’s resources

Geneva – Business, technology, social media and political leaders, as well as thousands of others took part in a global online discussion that underlined the power social media can wield in the sustainable development debate.

The daylong Rio+Social was run on Facebook and Twitter as world leaders converged in Rio de Janeiro for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, better known as Rio+20.

“Now, people around the world can connect like never before. We can learn from each other. We can push for action, and we can challenge leaders to live up to their words. That is what Rio+Social is all about”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told participants in a video message.

He said it was time to “defriend” the current unsustainable use of the planet’s resources. “We are here in Rio to talk about how we can bring social media into sustainability issues”, Pete Cashmore, the founder of the social media blog Mashable, told the UN News Service.

“People have realized that revolutions happen around the world, powered by social media”, he added. “Political and power structures are being upturned, so I think people are beginning to see that social media can drive a change in action and not just create buzz”.

French Ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau also stressed the power of social media, saying: “Give people of the world a voice and you give them power”.

“We need to use technology to empower people”, said António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Participants included UNDP Administrator Helen Clark; UN Foundation chairman, media tycoon and philanthropist Ted Turner; Virgin Group Chairman, Richard Branson and members of the US rock band Linkin Park.

“This is a remarkable gathering of 21st century thinkers, intellectuals and groups from around the world and should be very, very helpful for getting the message of sustainability all around the world”, UN Foundation President Tim Wirth said in an interview with the UN News Service.

Rio+Social was organized by the UN Foundation, Mashable, and 92nd Street Y, a New York-based civil society organization.

Follow the ILO’s participation at Rio+20 on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ilonews).