TeaTimeMorocco by WhatTookYouSoLong
The first in a four-part series of podcasts from the WTYSL North African leg of their camel cheese quest.
The What Took You So Long Foundation is a team dedicated to filming grassroots NGOs, untold stories, & unsung heroes in some of the more remote corners of the globe. They screen their work and host workshops & lectures all over the world in order to bring these messages to as many influential movers as possible.
There are three sectors, and 3 million ways, that make up the vast field Social Innovation exists in. Then, there is the hybrid layer. The fourth sector socio-economic silo that the Knowmads platform is comprised of. Taking root in Amsterdam, it focuses on new business design, international project design, creativity, sustainability, and social innovation to create “building blocks for a better world.”
As a student of the world, attempting to grasp what is happening in a movement while all the while being caught up in it at the same time makes it especially fascinating to connect to other movers and shakers in the field.
Amsterdam is my city. Yesterday, however, I managed to travel to three without even leaving town. Whether in New York, Singapore, or Brussels, here is my Sunday of Social Innovation in the city:
I’m fascinated with the field of social innovation. I am full of questions regarding what can often be a fuzzy, in-the-clouds concept. What is social innovation? What is happening in our world that has created such a movement behind this term? When and why do you call something “social” or something “innovative?” Who can we look to as exemplary social innovators? How does this term get put into action and what are some examples of social innovation happening in the field? How can you come to your own conclusions regarding these questions and find your place within it all? I suggest you take a look at this travel guide from the Kaos Pilot team 13:
I can’t believe I’m still awake right now. Knowing I have the second day of a workshop I’ve developed through Knowmads in collaboration with the Hub Amsterdam, I am still buzzing. It’s amazing the amount of things I am able to do with an education as amazing as Knowmads. Going out into the city doing collaborations like The Knowmadic Learning Lab make me realize that there a lot of other “pop-up, start-up learning spaces” happening all across the world.
When I mention this phrase, my mind immediately goes to Frauke Godet of the Hub Berlin. An absolutely gracious presence to have attend our workshop this past Wednesday, she has a rather interesting education topic that suggests the world’s next best “dream school” may not even need a roof. Here are some details on the concept, Future at School:
Facing the global transformation process from moving from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge age. Schools need to educate different skills and competencies:
INDUSTRIAL AGE…………………………….KNOWLEDGE AGE
Interpreted data……………………………. Interpreted information
Hierarchical………………………………….. Personally-constructed meanings
Soloed jobs and roles…………………….. Network org. and Knowmads
Chaos and ambiguity are avoided…….. Chaos and ambiguity are embraced
Inspired by John Moravec, a Knowmads ambassador and initiator of Education Futures:
Accelerating complexity caused by human activity is challenging society and individuals. We need to develop people who are capable to create alternatives in the unknown, to make sense of ambiguity, and to take leadership in chaotic environments.
Vision
To develop young people world-wide who take responsibility to design and create their future!
Mission:
To create a space for cross-generational learning and collaboration to support ideas for a radically better world.
Chris Guillebeau’s homepage instantly draws you in. Branding himself as “challenging authority since 1978”, Chris is a writer, traveler, and the biggest role model I’ve never met. Fighting the status quo is an art. Chris’ writing and way of life demonstrates that the art of non-conformity is not just writing about settling for less, but actually doing it!
Case in point; Chris has traveled to over 100 countries and has determined to travel to all the countries in the world by 35. When applying to Knowmads, I stumbled upon his site and it literally changed my life.
He’s written two incredible manifestos: A Brief Guide to World Domination and 279 Days to Overnight Success.
He’s a creative, resourceful entrepreneur who knows how to market his knowledge products that include: 25,000 Miles Guaranteed (become a frequent flyer master), Art + Money (yes, it’s possible!), Freelancers! (less stress. more pay.), Hail, Caesar! (build an empire), Create Your Own Freedom (break out of 9-5)
When Chris isn’t building his empire while traveling the world, writing a book (coming out next month!), or meeting other “world-changers,” he is usually running marathons and must be drinking incredible amounts of coffee! Some of his other popular articles include:
A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas
How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review
Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World
Could Chris be any more inspiring? I’m sure he’s trying and I’m happy to dedicate this post to a man who doesn’t even know my name but has dramatically changed my life. Perhaps, this man will inspire some change in you. Thanks, Chris! Happy travels!
To celebrate the dog days of summer, I’ll be posting (every Tuesday) books that have been on my goodreads ‘to-read’ list for quite some time. In case you’re not familiar, goodreads, it is one of my favorite ways to make reading a much more social activity. With the ability to create a network around what you and you’re friends are reading, want to read, and have read, goodreads brings the ‘book club’ home. If you want to learn more, see the link above, or check out my profile here.
Here are my first three recommendations for this four-part series:
Attempting to answer the question: How do I decide what to do with my life when there are so many things I want to do?
In my opinion, skip all the inspirational stories of people’s eclectic interests their creatively connected lives. Make this book an even easier read and use it for the incredibly helpful exercises it provides. Skip the book entirely if you know exactly what you want to do and how to focus your passions. If you have a million different directions your passion is pulling you, pull this one off the shelf, into your lap.
Read the rest of this entry »
Perhaps the best way to describe this city is like Amsterdam’s bitchier sister who is just as hot, but more in the ‘I can kick your ass’ kind of way. Rotterdam has chewed me up and spit me out, yet I still keep coming back for more. With gusts of salty wind, huge skyscrapers, and an impossible grind of cars, trams, and bicycles, she doesn’t give you the time to think. People aren’t strolling canals in circles, but crossing bridges with a direct destination in mind. Here, you work hard and you play hard. Any questions? If so, catch the nearest train back to Amsterdam; maybe someone up there will give you the time of day.
During the first morning of the Kennisland Social Innovation Safari, Kwela Sabine Hermanns, a personal role model of mine and also an ambassador for Knowmads, asked us all a very valuable question. She asked us:
What does social innovation mean for you?
It was an incredibly valid question. Every day in my very sheltered environment, although a school for the world, words like social innovation, sustainability, co-creation, presencing, and many others fly out of our mouths that would make most people outside the program, or at least outside social change circles, say… “what in the world…?”
Christina Jordan, another personal hero, is collaborating with many others to solve that very question. What (in the world) does social innovation mean? Co-organizer of the Cosi10, Christina is working to connect socially innovative initiatives around the world over a three month time span. In a “simple face-to-face unconference event,” they hope to create a networking and learning process that allows people to collaborate and share impact strategies, skill development resources, and even develop revenue models to build thrivable social innovations.
Still, the question remains. What constitutes a social innovation? From my extensive research on the subject, I like this answer best. Taken from the guys over at Social Velocity, they state that social innovation is…
“…a whole group of big, ambitious, new ideas and models for solving social problems. Social innovation is about changing institutions, organizations, approaches, systems in fundamental ways so that we can fix the many problems facing us. It includes things like:
• Creating new financial vehicles where nonprofit and for profit organizations that are working to solve social problems can have ready access to all kinds of funding (seed funding, growth capital, debt, etc.)
• Removing the hurdles placed in front of organizations working to solve social problems (accounting standards, IRS regulations, etc.)
• Restructuring philanthropy to be more effective at supporting real change
• Revamping government so that it can support, rather than thwart, change leaders
• Reforming nonprofit organizations to break out of the starvation cycle and become more effective at creating social impact
And that’s just the beginning.
Social innovation is big. It’s bold. It is a movement of people and organizations from all three sectors (public, private, nonprofit) who are taking a completely different approach, who are turning the status quo on its head, who are building new systems, who are asking hard questions, who are creating a new way forward.”
Finally, attempting to answer the question I first addressed, in one word, social innovation means for me connecting. It means a better connection to self and in turn a better connection to the world around you. It entails understanding that everything is connected to everything else and searching for the required passion to connect work to play.
The Knowmadic Learning Lab, in collaboration with the Hub Summer School initiative on the Knowmads platform, is my attempt to strengthen the power of connection, to be part of the social innovation movement, and to connect to you, wherever you are. We hope to see you on at the end of this month for a great day of playing with our passions at the Knowmadic Learning Lab!
The Social Innovation Safari in Amsterdam was an absolute hit. As a follow up to a week of imaginative innovations that came out of five local project-based assignments, I’m creating a blog post harvesting all the great things that came out of the Safari. Taken from the Kennisland website, here are the cases:
I’m especially focusing on the project I took on with the Mix Academy.
The Mix Academy, in simple terms, is an incredibly open alternative school for the arts located in the heart of the city. Recognizing that artists need to be entrepreneurs in order to reach their public, it trains students from all walks of life to discover their true self through their creativity. Whether it is through free painting, graphic design, 3D work, illustration, or photography, Mix Academy allows the individual to build a network around them that can launch them into the world. Combining high and low art through a very mixed curriculum, the Mix academy is a concept I greatly believe in.
Which is why it was so easy to take on this assignment that combined my interest in innovative education with art. Ralph de Lange, the initiator of the Mix, is a lovable character who was an absolute joy to work with. Strongly believing in his message that he wants to spread to the world, my team of six spent three days (and nights) working in parks, cafes, and even my apartment one very long evening. Here is the presentation full of innovative ideas that we gave to a full room of guests, including the local media, on the final evening:
For the full list of presentations that came out of the week-long program, see here.
Here are some other resources I’ve harvested on the final outcomes from the Safari:
An article written by Pieter Hilhorst of De Volkskrant, an Amsterdam newspaper. (Dutch, but can be translated)
The beginning of a great blog series on the Safari by Tage Skotvold, a participant and new friend.
Photos: KL Safari First Days
A blog on the Safari by Patrick Veenhoff
Have I missed any other good sources? If so, let me know!
