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The Story of Social ChangeHow do we talk about Ashoka?
+VISION“everyone a changemaker”Ashoka’s ultimate goal is to advance an Everyone a Changemaker world, where anyone can apply the skills of changemaking to solve complex social problems. Ashoka plays the role of advancing society’s transformation toward that world where each person is able to play the role of a change agent for the good of all.
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Why Changemaking?Why Everyone?Why now?Why Ashoka?
+It is a Changing World
The world is changing at a faster and faster rate:
The changes in population, changes in technology and increased interconnectivity signal an acceleration in change: each change bumps other changes amplifying the global rate of change in society.
What does this look like? Increasing number of
protests in the world & political flux
Disruptions in businesses: Fortune 500 companies shifting to innovation vs. repetition
Rapidly changing technologies are changing the way we relate to our environment, and to each other.
+Change is the new norm
A world that is constantly changing continues to outrun the rules
Old norm A world that works based on the
same rules with the few elite in control
Improved efficiency of repeated tasks meant success; the ability to produce more for less cost
Being a good person meant following the rules
New norm A changing, networked world Thriving and creating value now
means developing an ability to adapt to the needs of people and command change
To be a good person one has to utilize cognitive empathy
+Thriving means learning to command change
Rules & efficiency are no longer enough.
To succeed in a constantly changing society, one has inform decisions and actions based empathy for other people’s feelings and perspectives.
Ghandi understood it will be difficult for us to co-exist if we don’t have empathy-based ethics.
The skills of the future: Empathy Adaptable problem-
solving/changemaking Teamwork/Collaboration Leadership
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Communicating this new paradigm
How to communicating this perspective:
1. It’s all in the framing: Think about themes, values, principles and perspectives about the world rather than just mimicking “Ashoka jargon”.
2. Help people ask questions of themselves and about the world.
What do empathy or adaptable problem-solving look like in our daily lives & in the story you are sharing?
Begin with empathy for your audience: speak to your audience in simple language, in ways they can relate through their own experiences.
How can you demonstrate a changing world or the need for more problem solvers (solution-makers)?
Bring “nutritious content” or value while incorporating Ashoka themes
When new people join your team to work on communications and media, help them understand Ashoka and how the pieces fit together. Share this slide-set with them.
1. Frame using Ashoka themes
2. Begin with empathy for your audience
3. Create content that adds value
+Themes: skills of the future
The capacity to understand and relate to the perspectives, experiences and feelings of others who may be similar or different from one’s own
Making decisions and taking action based on the knowledge of other’s perspectives & feelings
An unrelenting sense for fairness Unwillingness to be complacent
with injustice Compassion and care for others Communication, ability to listen and
connect A deep commitment to contributing
to work that benefits the good of all Able to inspire trust and connection
with others
Giving self-permission to make change Capacity and courage to initiate Able to step into the tension to help
resolve it Unafraid to step into one’s power and
inspire others to do the same. Help others unlock their own capabilities Taking responsibility and ownership for
finding a solution Leading by example Good team player Ability to empathize with others and
connect Ability to inspire trust in others Risk-taking Courageous Considerate of others’ feelings and
perspectives
Empathy Leadership
+Themes: skills of the future
Connector that brings people and efforts together that previously existed in different silos
Adaptability and empathy Sees the interconnectedness
between sectors, institutions and fields
Work well and collaborate with others
A doer – gets things done Practices empathy Flexible Open, inclusive and communicative transparent the capacity to collaborate with
others to solve problems
Creativity Optimistic that change is possible Has a solutions lens/focus for the world –
“solution is possible” Self-permission to make change Explorer/open Critical-thinker Adaptable fast learner Big-picture thinker Fearless to try and fail and progress
towards a solution Takes an iterative approach: each solution
gets better with input from others and with improvement over time.
Sees the connections across fields and sectors - Able to grasp the many sides of today’s complex problems
Thinks outside the box Practices resilience Curious: asks questions - why and how Seeks possibilities Dedicated
Teamwork Problem-Solving/Changemaking
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How does Ashoka know this?
• Ashoka’s first focused on identifying individuals who were creating innovative solutions that addressed the root causes of the problems in their local communities.
• Ashoka worked to establish their work as a profession “social entrepreneurship” by electing them as “Ashoka fellows” and providing support.
• Each of these innovators imagined a new, better reality for those around them and they went to work making it happen. They also spread their vision to others, in the end, reinventing pre-existing patterns in society for the good of all.
• As the network expanded (now including 3000 innovators), trends emerged. 700 of these innovators are focused on working with youth and kids indicating a field ripe for transformation.
• The ground-up insights from innovations indicate trends in issues ripe for massive transformation; through collaborative entrepreneurship with fellows working with key partners: schools and media mavens Ashoka aims to “tip” the world into a new framework about the growing up experience of youth and children helping move society into an “Everyone a Changemaker World”
The foundation of it all: social entrepreneurs!
+Where does Ashoka fit in the broader narrative of social change? Each social change initiative in the world
drives toward four levels of social impact1. direct service
2. scaling direct service
3. pattern (system) change
4. framework change (societal mind-shift)
Ashoka deals with the last two levels of impact with 80% of Ashoka’s impact now having to do with framework change.
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Appropriate measures of direct service impact would include number of students educated or patients treated last month.
#1. Direct
Service
craighighschool.org
Johnlund.com
Teacher
Doctor
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Appropriate measures of impact would include number of students educated or patients treated last month.
#2.Scaling Direct Impact
School
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The pattern of behavior in a field is changed.
Examples include: Most entrepreneurs –e.g. Bright Simons, Molly Barker. Appropriate measures include: (1) what percentage of Fellows have changed national policy within five years of launch (over 50%); what percent have changed their field at the national level within five years (75%).
System/Pattern Change
Microfinance
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#3.System (Pattern) Change
“An innovative idea in the hands of a brilliant entrepreneur”
Entrepreneurs disrupt how society organizes whether it be by shifting market dynamics, rules that govern industries or public policy, transforming the relationship between social impact and business, legal systems, social organization and reimagining them.
Don’t just look at particular problems but the whole systems within which they exist.
Able to address to root cause and understand the system to be able to reimagine and reinvent it.
Capacity to create a new vision for the future and spread it with help from local changemakers that join the movement
Social entrepreneurs are individuals with a fundamentally new vision of what is possible in the world.
Learn more
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People see and understand the world differently. This new lens opens/demands new behavior at all levels
#4. Mindset shift /
Framework change
+How do different parts of Ashoka fit?
Empathy Initiative & Youth
Venture: Provide young
people with the skills and opportunities
and support to drive change
in their communities
Ashoka U: Support
leaders in social
entrepreneurship education;
connect today’s top
thinkers with today’s top
doers
Changemakers
: Funnel resources
toward innovative
new solutions to
social problems
through an online
competition format
Ashoka Fellows
: Build a community of leading social entrepreneurs
across the globe; they
are role model for the
field
Everyone a Changemaker
A world where we are all agents of change; where our values and institutions prioritize empathetic action to address problems big and small; where problems no longer outrun solution.
Youth Years
Higher Ed
Career & Beyond
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Examples
Articles Two sides of the same coin: the e
ducation and employment crisis 7 Trends Shaping Africa’s Youth E
mployment Challenge Sparking Creativity and Curiosity t
o Ignite Change in Rural India
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Elements/ Values of the Everyone a Changemaker Story
Iteration
Humility
Empathy
A-ha moments
Hope
You can become part of the story
Locally-Based
Highly-ethical
Life-long dedication/apprentice to the problem
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Do’s on Don’ts
Academic
Jargon
Not only about us/