Samsung and the United Nations Development Programme Partner With Youth to Accelerate Progress for the Global Goals

An inaugural group of four diverse young leaders will unite under a shared mission to champion a better future, using Galaxy technology and the United Nations ecosystem.

In celebration of the United Nations’ 75^th Anniversary, Samsung Electronics today announced Generation17, an initiative in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to inspire action to achieve the Global Goals – a set of 17 interlinked goals that provide a blueprint to achieve a better future for all by 2030.

Generation17 merges the power of Samsung Galaxy smartphone technology with UNDP’s platform to galvanize an entire generation of young people to achieve the 17 Global Goals in less than ten years. The initiative will elevate the stories and share the impactful work of young leaders who are already making considerable strides in support of the Global Goals.

“We are excited to better connect these inspiring advocates to their peers, enable their generation to take bold action on the Goals, and make their voices heard loud and clear with the latest Galaxy technology and our shared vision,” said Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “With a purpose as grand as the Global Goals, we strongly believe a collaborative, rallying effort will be imperative in sparking meaningful change.”

The 2020 cohort of Generation17 is made up of four trailblazers who are mobilizing communities from Mali and Argentina, to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our lifetimes:

• Máximo Mazzocco (Argentina): A 30-year old who founded Eco House, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable development through education, volunteering, advocacy and environmental certification
• Sadya Touré (Mali): A 23-year-old author who founded Mali Musso, an organization which empowers women through education to destigmatize gender-based violence
• Shomy Chowdhury (Bangladesh): A 26-year-old Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activist seeking to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all through her global organization, Awareness 360, working across 23 countries
• Tafara Makaza (Zimbabwe): A 24-year-old junior at Williams College, in Williamstown, MA, studying astrophysics who has launched diverse startups to build transportation, energy, agriculture and education solutions

The 2020 Cohort of Generation17 Young Leaders

Millennials and Gen Z wield incredible influence in catalyzing change as tech savvy global citizens in an unprecedently borderless world, with their unwavering and relentless optimism leading the charge on climate change and racial justice and influencing policymakers and businesses to chart a more sustainable course for our collective future. Generation17 is our answer to their call-to-action.

“Young people are advancing the Global Goals through their work as innovators, entrepreneurs and advocates, and we must properly engage them today for the success of our global agenda tomorrow,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “They harness incredible power in advocating for positive, systemic change, and we must support them in their roles as torchbearers of the Global Goals. This initiative complements other initiatives across the UN system, strengthening the foundations for a UN that delivers with and for young people through the UN Youth Strategy: Youth2030.”

UNDP and Samsung will provide mentorship, networking opportunities, and Galaxy devices to help broaden the reach of each of the young leaders’ voices and strengthen their organizations and businesses. They will also use the Samsung Global Goals app, which is preinstalled on the latest Galaxy smartphones, to show users how they can make a difference across the 17 Global Goals in their daily lives. Through educational content, the app aims to increase awareness of the Goals and has so far raised $1M in donations¹ for UNDP.

¹ The Samsung Galaxy Community Raised $1M to Support the Global Goals