Brock { Abroad }

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is from one of the most amazing days of my life. Taken in Stockholm, it says: “Ideas to change the world:”

You may recognize one contribution…

Another great day at Knowmads, hosting a World Cafe for idea generation on our Picnic proposal in the morning:

and, in the afternoon, dreaming up…

I think both are very much connected to the photo from above as well as the theme for this year’s Picnic event:

“The world around us is changing fast, and not all the changes are positive. We’re facing the biggest natural, social and economic challenges our world has ever seen. We’ve addressed some of these issues in the past, but the days of just talking are over. It’s time to take action.

We’re focusing on Life, Cities, Media and Design — areas that provide real opportunities to make a difference. PICNIC ’10 brings you a platform to create new solutions for a better world.

For more information on the event, click on the picture above, or check out the blog of Marcel Kampman of happykamping. Both creative director of the festival as well as ambassador of Knowmads, his website is definitely worth a peek. Thanks again to all the great guests Knowmads was able to welcome home on this exciting day!

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!

I’m proud to bring back the second installment of my Summer Book Series! Relaxed, rested, and ready to rejuvenate this series after ten days of meditating, I’ve decided to profile two books similar to my recent mind-expanding experience. Our personal perceptions, how we think, make up the majority of who we really are. After over 100 hours of training the monkey in my mind, I’ll introduce the second part of this series with a book similarly titled.

A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink is centered around a thesis that claims we are entering a new age of commerce, living, and learning. Pink sees three forces driving the Western World in this direction: Abundance, Asia, and Automation. Also author of Drive: The Surprising Science of Motivation, states that there are six critical competencies required for this new era:

1. Design—not just a function but also DESIGN

2. Story—not just an argument but also a STORY

3. Symphony—not just focus but also SYMPHONY

4. Empathy—not just logic but also EMPATHY

5. Play—not just seriousness but also PLAY

6. Meaning—not just accumulation but also MEANING

An incredibly easy read, this book has great flow. As a great fan of Pink, I recommend the following YouTube video adapted as a taste of Pink’s brilliantly simple mind:

Written in the same style as Pink, in terms of format, Global Citizens by Mark Gerzon is my next recommendation. He states that there are three skills required for a 21st Century global citizen. Along the lines of Naomi’s previous post on openness, these qualities are:

• Witnessing- Seeing with open eyes-
• Learning- Opening our minds-
• Connecting- Creating relationships-
• Geo-Partnering- Working together

Gerzon concludes with a section on twenty ways to raise our Global Intelligence along with a great ‘action guide’ appendix of Global Citizen’s resources followed by extensive notes.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post profiling these resources! Until then, happy learning! Enjoy the last of these dog days of summer!

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!