Digital4Good Summit 2023: Celebrating Youth Innovation and Positive Change

About Digital4Good Summit 2023

The Digital4Good Summit celebrates students who have used their platforms to impact their communities positively. Seven students: Anna Miller, Armita Hosseini, Axel Perez, Donovan Beck, Gauri Nimbalkar, Hurshneet Chadha, Saanvi Shetty, and Shreya Karnik were celebrated. The power hour livestream, which took place on March 13th, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. PST in Santa Monica, California, featured guest speakers consisting of sharks and mentors, the youth innovation winners, and live entertainment. 

Digital4Good is a nonprofit organization empowering students and educators to use social media for good. This year’s event brought the organization together in person to celebrate the winners, and the winners were allowed to network with the organization and the guest speakers. While this summit happens once a year, its positive impact extends beyond.

Schedule of the Digital4Good Summit 2023

• Introduction
• Emcees - Lilliana and Caden Ketchman
• Keynote Speaker - Tony Whatley
• Winners - Anna Miller, Hurshneet Chadha, and Gauri Nimbalkar
• Guest Speaker - Brette Borow 
• Winners - Axel Perez, Saanvi Shetty and Shreya Karnik
• Live Entertainment - Linsey Urrea
• Winners - Armita Hosseini and Donovan Beck 
• People’s Choice Awards - Voting Opens
• Work2BeWell
• #IWILLHELP challenge 
• Digital4Good Winners Q + A and People’s Choice Awards Winner announced

Introduction, Emcees, Keynote Speaker 

Kim Karr, the co-founder of Digital4Good x #ICANHELP and Lola Bessis, lead intern for #ICANHELP, welcomed the attendees for the in-person event and the viewers on the livestream. 

Lola Bessis introduced Lilliana Ketchman and Caden Ketchman, the emcees for the Digital4Good summit, onto the stage. Caden Ketchman has worked with #ICANHELP for three years alongside his sister Lilliana Ketchman, an ambassador for #ICANHELP and a Youtuber who was previously on the television series Dance Moms. 

Lilliana and Caden express how #ICANHELP has impacted their lives. Lilliana states, “As someone who has been in the public eye since I was seven, I know the ups and downs of social media.” She promotes online positivity. On the other hand, Caden speaks on how #ICANHELP and the Digital4Good winners have inspired him to fight for change in education policy and take an active role in mental health care. 

The emcees greeted the opening keynote speaker, Tony Whatley, onto the stage next. Tony Whatley is the host of 365 Driven Podcast. He is a business mentor, serial entrepreneur, and author of the #1 bestselling book Sidehustle Millionaire. He inspires the crowd by discussing his background, how entrepreneurship differs from the past to today, and how failure is part of everyday life. “We don’t fear failure, but we fear what others will say about failure.” Despite failures and listening to other people’s opinions, we must give our best to succeed. The audience and viewers on the livestream agreed with Tony Whatley and encouraged others that there is no success without failure. “Failure is temporary in your journey to success,” stated Lamont Clark, who commented during the livestream. 

Anna Miller, Hurshneet Chadha, and Gauri Nimbalkar 

Each winner went on stage to pitch their project and how we could support them. Anna Miller, the winner of the Most Inspirational Award from #ICANHELP, spoke first. Anna Miller talks about her experiences of traveling with a disability, plus other topics. One billion people experience some form of disability, and she says, “Living an adventurous life is possible for everyone.” 

Next, Hurshneet Chadha, founder and CEO of Project Smile AZ, discusses his organization’s success and how through volunteering and raising awareness on Project Smile AZ, over 70,000 smiles (people) were helped through his project. Project Smile AZ’s goal is to spread smiles across the globe through simple acts of kindness and involvement. 

Gauri Nimbalkar, the third winner, founded The Association for Youth Well-being (YWB). She mentions that her organization has reached a worldwide audience and gives youth an equal opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns to members of UN entities, Gov.s & decision-making spaces. 

The Her Feed

Brette Borow is the creator of Her Feed, a platform that empowers and inspires women through relatable content. This guest speaker wants to help all women, and during her presentation, she says, “There is so much power to your voice and your story.” The Her Feed shares inspirational and helpful content with all women on social media.

Axel Perez, Saanvi Shetty and Shreya Karnik 

Axel Perez is the creator of Simply Wholehearted, a nonprofit organization that provides leadership opportunities to underprivileged communities. He also won the Most Innovative Award from #ICANHELP. 

Saanvi Shetty and Shreya Karnik are creators of Voices of Gen-Z. They aim to inspire and engage youth to know how they feel about specific topics and cover them online. 

Live Entertainment - Linsey Urrea 

Linsey Urrea performed two songs, “Eye to Eye” and “Shape Shifter,” which had the audience grooving and getting everyone excited for the remainder of the winners to present. 

Armita Hosseini and Donovan Beck 

Armita Hosseini, the next speaker, was presented on stage. Armita Hosseini is the founder of EmpowerEcon and winner of the Biggest Impact Award from #ICANHELP. She voices that 57% of American adults are financially literate, and minorities and immigrants do not receive financial education. Her goal is to educate, empower, and inspire. 

Lastly, Donovan Beck, the creator of Mind of Sol Media, talks about how artists need support. He is a filmmaker and artist, building a foundational way to help artists while tackling mental health issues and working with other organizations.

People’s Choice Awards Winner 

The audience applauded all the winners for their hard work and their projects. They inspired everyone to start their own projects and implement what they are doing into their daily lives. The Digital4Good community is brought together through support for one another and strives for digital safety. 

The audience had to vote for the People’s Choice Awards winner. Before the winner was announced, each of the Digital4Good winners was asked questions from the crowd. Some questions were in person, while others were posted online in the livestream. The winner of the People’s Choice Awards is Anna Miller. 

Work2BeWell 

Work2BeWell is a “Worldwide mental health and wellness program focused on providing mental health resources and education for teens, parents, and educators.” Work2BeWell is a trusted resource for educational tools and resources that teens, schools, and parents can use and work together. These resources include Stress, Mental Wellness, Relationships, Suicide Prevention, and more. 

#IWILLHELP Challenge 

While listening to the Digital4Good winners talk about their projects, Kim Karr and Alexa Negrete ask the crowd how they can help. The #IWILLHELP challenge encouraged everyone to talk about what they can do. 

Lola Bessis mentioned that she would be raw on social media and express her feelings without fear. Alexa Negrete states she will share other digital creators and their projects on her platforms. 

Digital4Good 2024

How have you positively impacted your community? The Digital4Good 2023 Summit inspired many people to make a difference in technology use. 

You can nominate a student you feel has used Digital4Good here. 

Join the Digital4Good community on social media! Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay updated on online positivity. 

Digital4Good Summit 2023: Celebrating Youth Innovation and Positive Change

By: Izabellah Deocampo, Seasonal Events Marketing Intern | Digital4Good