Launch of the humanitarian and environmental social network Goodwall.org

It is a known fact that stories inspire and motivate individuals to take action. Goodwall brings together all the stories of people doing good and highlights the best to inspire others to follow their footsteps. Goodwall is not “just another social network”: it promotes real, concrete actions that push humanity forward.

Goodwall has officially launched last week. After almost two years of preparation and 1.1 million CHF in fundraising, the social network to do good finally opens to the public. The Geneva-based startup begins by winning the People’s Choice Award sponsored by Accenture at Alp ICT’s Venture Night at Lift, one of Europe’s key events about innovation and technology.

“Do good & share it” is the mantra behind Goodwall: the humanitarian and environmental social network that encourages and facilitates people to do real good and inspire others progressively throughout their lives. The innovative platform is a game changer for people seeking to improve our world. “We know that clicking on a website will not change the world, but changing mindsets will” says Founder Omar Bawa.

According to him, “Social education” is the first step to achieving this mission. To begin, they are partnering with schools around the world to encourage kids to systematically do good and share it on Goodwall from a young age; they are also partnering with universities to incentivize high schoolers to do good and build their humanitarian CVs to distinguish themselves beyond their grades. The humanitarian CV showcases a member’s education, concrete good actions, projects and real-life experiences to inspire others to do good. The goal is to continue on that track until “doing good” becomes a habit: a behavior, a way of life.

Goodwall, however, is not exclusive to high schoolers and university students. It is a known fact that stories inspire and motivate individuals to take action. Goodwall brings together all the stories of people doing good and highlights the best to inspire others to follow their footsteps. Anyone can create and share beautiful inspiring stories, videos and photos. That said, to ensure the content is relevant (to avoid videos of kittens riding bicycles backwards), members must select an issue (Environment, Health, Human Rights, Education, Conflict and Development). Members can discover trending socially-relevant shareable “Top Stories” hand-picked by Goodwall’s editorial team or enjoy a constant stream of fresh meaningful content from the issues, people, organizations and communities they follow. Like-minded members can connect, collaborate, share and discuss with each other in dedicated communities. Goodwall is not “just another social network”: it goes way beyond that by promoting real, concrete actions that push humanity forward.

The platform was founded by a team of young social entrepreneurs: the Bawa brothers: Omar and Taha, and Marcus Bonalumi. Omar and Taha were born into the humanitarian sector. Their parents have over fifty years of experience between them working for the UNHCR, WHO, Save the Children and the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. They witnessed the social challenges our world faces from afghan children in refugees camps in Iran to a tsunami literally in their backyard in Sri Lanka. After participating in Model UN, interning at the UN Human Rights Council and studying humanitarian law, Omar created Goodwall when he realized the web was the perfect platform to inspire, inform and involve a global community.

Taha joined him, after understanding that it was a unique opportunity to harness technology and address the world’s greatest challenges. Soon after, Marcus Bonalumi, Taha’s university classmate, joined the team. To bring Goodwall to life, Alexander Bredy, a childhood friend with an intense passion for coding and developing complex mobile and web applications, joined the team. After developing the first prototype, Alex put together a team of experienced engineers and a designer, Aleksis Bourqui, who adhered to the vision, to make Goodwall a reality.