This is what Im looking forward to later today. Given that its the end of October, Im hoping that the weather holds up (hopefully it doesn’t rain) and that its not too cold…
To provide some context, Monika and I are working towards getting our SSI Open Water Scuba Diving certification, and this weekend, we’re doing our mandatory open water dives out in Lake Simcoe, our last step towards becoming fully licensed to scuba dive.
Although I am keenly interested in the social innovation process and how transformative social change happens, when it comes to the environment, I do care, but I would not say that I am absolutely passionate it… until now that is. I joke that after having spent some time in British Columbia visiting my family this summer, I may have turned into an avid environmentalist overnight. When you’re out in BC, you can’t help but become an advocate for the environment. Everywhere you turn, you are surrounded by mountains, trees, and lakes, absolutely breathtaking.
My friend Kristina Lugo, had a brilliant guest post over at Justice for All by Akhila Kolisetty a couple of weeks ago, and she has some great insight on how to get people to care about a social issue, or any social issue for that matter:
“The truth is, what I’m passionate about may not be exactly what you are passionate about. In fact, you may never be passionate about the issues in which I am. And it’s taken awhile, but I think that’s ok. I’ve experienced the difficulty in getting people to care about any sort of social issue, so how much more the social issues that I’m passionate about? This does not mean I’ll stop advocating for the 1.1 billion citizens of the Earth that lack clean water (I will engage in that conversation given the most miniscule opportunity), but I’ve moved from over-zealously trying to convince, to trying to inspire.“
And on that note, with a sudden interest in diving and given some of the photos below, I now have much more of an interest in preserving not only our environment on land, but in the water as well. A little self-serving perhaps, but in the end, I believe to really get people to care or even be inspired to take on an issue, it really needs to be brought down to the personal level.
In a (very early stage) planning meeting for a major Canadian conference around community-university partnerships, set to take place in Waterloo Region in May 2011. The theme of the conference is “Bringing Global Perspectives to Local Action”. More information can be found at www.cuexpo2011.ca
The last CUExpo took place in Victoria, BC in 2008.
It’s funny how I was at the ChangeMedium event at MaRS in Toronto yesterday, and today, I find myself face to face with a life-size replica of the Mars Rover at the Physica Phantastica Exhibit in uptown Waterloo, part of the Quantum to Cosmos festival hosted by the Perimeter Institute.
I often come across the question “So, what do you do?” when I am at an event and meeting people for the first time, or catching up with old friends from high school or university.
More often than not, I find myself having to explain the work that I do from the very beginning. It usually begins with providing a basic overview of the terms social innovation and social entrepreneurship, both from the Social Innovation Generation perspective, complemented with the emerging definitions of the terms.
I have also heard the argument that there will come a point in time where the word ’social’ will no longer be needed in front of the word ‘entrepreneur’ to define ’social entrepreneur’, as the very definition of ‘entrepreneur’ in itself would have evolved to encompass the ideals and values of a social entrepreneur: an individual focused on social and environmental impact, while maintaining net positive financial returns as well. (Again, this is a very broad definition of social entrepreneurship).
Figure 4 explains on which scale the above-defined three concepts introduce innovation. Whereas social entrepreneurship focuses on an individual and social enterprise addresses organizations, social innovation strives to change the way a system operates. Consequently, social entrepreneurship and social enterprise operate within the larger framework of “wider trends of thought and practice” (Westall, 2007, p. 2). Therefore, Leadbeater (2007) suggests, the policy on social enterprise should be developed within the boundaries of a wider strategy on social innovation.
However, we still have a long way to go before the terms social innovation and social entrepreneurship, enters into mainstream vocabulary.
That being said, the following video is certainly a great primer if you are not too familiar with social innovation, or if the field of social change has recently piqued your interest.
Above is my colleague Lisa Torjman from SiG@MaRS, delivering a 5-minute talk on social innovation at Ignite Toronto a couple of months ago. This short video highlights what social innovators are interested in. From convergence and complexity theory, to social-ecological resilience and systems design, Lisa does a great job of condensing the complex elements surrounding social innovation, into the Ignite presentation format of only 20 presentation slides, with only 15 seconds allocated to each slide.
If you enjoyed Lisa’s presentation above, you will certainly enjoy the roster of exciting speakers and topics that we have lined up for Ignite Waterloo. The Ignite Waterloo presentation that I am personally looking forward to is Simon Clark’s Hacking the ‘hood – Simple ways to turn a neighborhood into a community.
Have you ever wanted to live in a really great neighborhood? One where everybody knows each other, where you can’t walk down the street without meeting fifteen people you know? You could move to such a place, but why not create it where you already live? Learn some simple tricks to turn your neighborhood into a community to cherish.
About Ignite Waterloo
Ignite Waterloo captures the best of Waterloo Region’s geek culture in a series of five-minute speed presentations on topics ranging from The Best Way to Buy a Car to Hacking Chocolate. Imagine that you’re on stage in front of an audience of hundreds of people, doing a five-minute presentation using a slide deck that auto-forwards every 15 seconds, whether you’re ready or not. What would you do? What would you say? Could you stand the pressure?
I came across the first picture in the above photo gallery a couple of weeks ago when my friend Dyan Pascual in the Philippines posted it on Facebook in the direct aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana (also known as Ondoy in the Philippines). And since then, I have not been able to stop thinking about what happened to the little boy attempting to float in a bucket in the flooded waters.
In case you missed it, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Ketsana towards the end of September, and no sooner had the rains cleared leaving a warpath of large flooded areas, destroyed homes, thousands stranded, hundreds dead and millions of dollars worth of damage, did Typhoon Parma make its way to the Philippines shortly thereafter. Entire villages were flooded triggering deadly landslides, the worst it has ever been in the Philippines in over forty years. In total, over 600 people have been killed and according to government officials, an estimated 300,000 people remain displaced or in shelters. It seems that in the weeks following the floods, fears of water-borne diseases are growing due to the stagnant, rancid and infested water left behind.
The use of social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Youtube played a big role in keeping communication lines open, as communication by telephone was rendered impossible due to the floods. Google has set up a resource page for the victims of Typhoon Ketsana, and students from Ateneo de Manila University have set up a Wiki allowing people to post information on missing persons as well. Suffice to say, social media has played a critical role in documenting the impact and extent of the floods and landslides, as well as helping to rally people together to help their fellow countrymen affected by Mother Nature’s fury.
It seems that parts of Asia and the South Pacific were not spared either, as an earthquake rocked Indonesia around the same time period, a tsunami devastated American Samoa, and southern India saw the worst rain and floods in more than a century.
A return to the Philippines. But what would it take?
There is a reason why I decided to write a blog post on the state of calamity in the Philippines. A part of it has to do with the sympathy vote. Of course, if you are moved and are able, please feel free to donate both online as well as in-kind using the resources page listed on Google.
However, a larger part of it has to do with my wrestling with the notion of returning to the Philippines. With the advent of Typhoons Ketsana and Parma in recent weeks, I am beginning to seriously consider taking the leap and moving to the Philippines within the next year or so. And yet, the sticking point always revolves around the notion of impact, and what “good” can I really do for the Philippines when I am there?
I have friends who upon graduating from university in Canada as recently as this past year, decided to move to Hong Kong or mainland China to live and work, as a result of lower costs of living, a surging economy and to pursue opportunities that were simply not found in North America. And many of them were of Chinese descent as well.
Given all of this, the one question that comes to mind when put into context is,
“What would it take for young Filipino graduates/professionals who grew up and studied abroad, to go back to the Philippines to contribute to ensuring a robust economy and a resilient society?”
It certainly may be a lack of perceived opportunities in the country. However, there is the example of Filipino social entrepreneur, Efren Penaflorida, recently recognized by CNN Heroes for his work with Dynamic Teen Company in providing Filipino youth in slum areas an alternative to gang membership through education programs, that has convinced me that there is no shortage of opportunities in the country to make a difference.
On a side note, please take a moment to vote for Efren Penaflorida for the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year
But is making a difference enough? What about the practical and financial aspects of moving to the Philippines?
Sadly, I don’t have the answers to the questions posed above just yet. However, I have always imagined what it would be like if my fellow (young) Filipino peers, who lived, grew up and studied abroad as a result of the Filipino Diaspora, and are now young professionals in a wide range of sectors and industries, returned in massive numbers to the country of our parents’ homeland.I know that this is not as simple as it may seem, given the economics of the situation as outlined by Bong Amora in his brilliant blog post on the Filipino Diaspora (the blog post is a bit dated, but still brilliant nonetheless)
I know that there has to be a solution.
Returning to the Philippines.
What would it take? Hmm…
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims affected by the natural disasters, not only in the Philippines, but across Asia and the south pacific as well.
I am a 20-something young person keenly interested in learning how transformative social change happens, and passionate about building resilient communities. I also have a strong background in student and youth engagement, and I am convinced that young people have the power and opportunities like never before to affect positive change in the world.
