Pharrell Williams claimed last night that music supersedes barriers, summarising the mindset of the moment.

The philanthropically-minded star behind the G-Star Raw's campaign for the Ocean's was speaking at the Social Good Summit, held by the UN Foundation. The conference is currently making headlines worldwide, bringing together technology and new media for the power of social good.

It was opened by Pharrell, who explained how is eponymous Happy is about more than feel-good music. It was created with the intention of bringing people together for a common goal and breaking down the barriers that language and image have set.

The magical Alicia Keys agreed. Indeed, her involvement in the evening's proceedings took a remarkable turn. There to promote her We Are Here movement, which is dedicated to awakening a sense of purpose in every individual, the singer donated $1 Million to the cause. But she also took to the piano to sing, promoting her new single We Are Here, which in turn was written to promote awareness of her cause.

Unlike Happy, however, we don't see it grasping hearts and minds around the world. It is sensitive, but it is not catchy - or at least not as obviously as the former. It represents a movement, but is not a movement in itself as Happy was.

Does this matter? It may not have called on immeasurable worldwide contributions to facilitate its creation, but it certainly adds a dynamic to social action.

And it will definitely make people talk.

That is probably why the summit's first day reached a remarkable 140 countries and received well over 13,000 unique contributions. We wait in anticipation for Day Two.

The Society of Young Philanthropists is closely connected with the UN Foundation and their PlusSocialGood movement - our founder is a social ambassador, and we will be working with them on our future events.