The October 29th Ideapod Salon “People, Prosperity and the Planet” held at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Office in New York City was an excellent way to start important discussions, to get people thinking about past, current and future issues that affect us all. Issues created by the incredible population growth experienced since 1900, when the world’s population hit one billion people. In 2014 we now are at 7 billion and growing. What kind of strain does that many people put on the environment? In the future, will there be enough food for everyone? Where will all those people live? Will there be appropriate services (i.e. health) and access to education, etc.?
Along with population growth we’ve experienced exponential technological change. One concern that circulated during the salon centered on how technology can be utilized to create a better future. All the technology in the world will not matter if we do not focus on the people. How can organizations better distribute services and goods to people around the world? How do we raise enough awareness about the issues that matter to grab and keep people’s attention? What will it take to change how people behave? What needs to be done to affect the choices people make? How can we instill the need to be proactive rather than be reactive?
It was encouraging to see the genuine interest the UNFPA representatives had in hearing the ideas and opinions of the attendees that came from a wide range of backgrounds and professions.
Attendees learned about UNFPA and Ideapod’s missions and were able to mingle and chat with fellow participants. Personally, I found the experience, which was my first in-person ideapod salon, to be much like my first virtual experiences on the social media platform. When I first started using Ideapod, I discovered members came from all walks of life, with any and all interests. My first and future interactions on the site were all positive — the same happened at the Ideapod salon. Everyone came to the discussion brimming with ideas, eager to discuss their concerns. Oddly enough, as different as people seemed given each of our introductions at the start of the salon, in the end, we were all like-minded in the sense of urgency we all felt to build a better future, and we all shared a passion: the belief that ideas, like the ones shared in that room, can be turned into action and can be transformational. They can be used for positive change.
Remember the people. It should be a no brainer: a social media platform brings people together. Ideapod goes beyond that. It is a space where people are drawn together due to the natural tendency in us all to explore, to discover and learn something new, to revisit old concepts, to share our ideas, to be inspired, to then go out into the world to create and to tinker. Opportunities like the Ideapod salons give members the chance to interact beyond the virtual space, which, in my opinion, is a natural next step after initial meet-ups online. Conversing with others at the level of ideas creates a desire to go beyond the 1000 character idea, bring that idea to life “out there” in “real time,” and possibly collaborate with others, which builds even more meaningful relationships.
To read more ideas about “People, Prosperity and the Planet” please visit https://www.ideapod.com/ideas/search?q=UNFPAInnovation
—Christine Miller, http://ideapod.com/eMaestra
Consider this technological change: Far left image in NYC taken in 1994, recorded on film, and developed days later on photographic paper in a dark room with a series of chemicals. Only then, could it be shared with other people. Center and far right images taken October 29th, 2014 on a smart phone and shared instantaneously via twitter @cmm0
