Building a Better Future for Civil Societies Around the World

Digital tools such as Facebook and Twitter have empowered activists around the world to become revolutionaries. Despite the advances civil society has made, its freedoms are in jeopardy around the planet.

Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem From Hell, will join Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore at the Social Good Summit. Their conversation, Defending the Defenders, will explore the crackdown on activists and civil society across the world.

This year's Social Good Summit, themed #2030NOW, focuses on technology's role in creating solutions for the future. This panel will specifically explore the role of civil society in building a better future.

Power's panel will be available on Livestream on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Prior to becoming the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations in August, Power's distinguished career has included stints as a journalist in places such as Bosnia, East Timor, Kosovo, Rwanda, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, authoring several books, founding the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and serving as Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on President Obama's National Security Staff.

Though the conference has already sold out, you can join in the conversations on the main stage at New York's 92nd Street Y by tuning into the Livestream. You can also join one of the more than 120 Meetups happening around the planet, including places such as Kazakstan, Kenya, Haiti and Somalia.

About Social Good Summit

The Social Good Summit is where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions and is brought to you by Mashable, The 92nd Street Y, The United Nations Foundation, The United Nations Development Programme, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Ericsson. Held during U.N. Week, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges.

Date: Sept. 22 through Sept. 24
Time: 12 to 6 p.m. each day
Location: 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y.
Tickets: [SOLD OUT]

About Ericsson

BONUS: 10 Empowering Apps for Social Good

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   1. Budge

   Gone are the days of daring your friends without consequences. When you challenge your friends to Budge, the person who loses the challenge needs to donate an agreed upon amount to a charity of the winner's choosing.

   Available on iOS.

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    10. VolunteerMatch

    Eager for a new volunteer program? This iOS app brings the online volunteer network onto your smartphone. It has a sleek interface that will help you find great opportunities to give back near you.

    VolunteerMatch lets you select which skill you're looking to use to volunteer, so you can lend your expert web design or managerial skills, for example.