In a world of capitalist businessmen and women whose main interest lies in their green bottom line, Ashoka goes against the grain by bringing the rare individual – whose purpose is to save the world – into the spotlight.
Ashoka describes itself as the “global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.” It invests in people.
Wherever there is a need, in any part of the world, Ashoka strives to bring support and solutions. One primary way of doing that is by offering three-year fellowships to people who have worked to bring justice to their part of the world over the course of their entire adult life. Their fields of work are in civic engagement, economic development, environment, health, human rights, and education. Ashoka aims to approach social change in a comprehensive way for all their projects.
A Socially Conscious Strategy
Ashoka works on three levels – supporting the social entrepreneur, bringing communities of social entrepreneurs together, and building infrastructure and financial systems for the growth of the citizen sector.
By building such a progressive network, their impact can be much larger. Each entrepreneur has proven to have immense commitment and dedication to their work and by linking together the work of many entrepreneurs, Ashoka is able to identify cutting edge trends and implement them more broadly.
Ashoka’s approach is holistic, and in that regard, unique.
They recognize the relationship between the business sector and non-governmental organizations, and that without this relationship there can be no progress.
Check out this interesting video about how Ashoka leverages business partnerships, culture and technology to better the state of thousands of farmers in Africa:
One of Ashoka’s goals is to close the gap between the business and civil societywhile creating a synergy between both communities. They have developed programs like micro-financing and strategic partnerships to further their goals of aggregate change.
Early Stages of Development
Founded by Bill Drayton in 1980, Ashoka has led the way in the field of social entrepreneurship. Drayton has been involved in social change from a very young age. In high school, he created the Asia Society, a group that became the largest student organization, and also became a member of the NAACP. He believed that if people were concerned with social injustices in the West, they could only be more disturbed by the greater inequalities in the East.
Bill Drayton, Founder of Ashoka
Ashoka’s first fellow was elected in 1981 in India. India remains a strong area of focus and even harbored the inspiration for their name. Ashoka was a leader in third century BC who unified the entire subcontinent by renouncing violence and dedicating his life to social welfare and economic development.
The strong, broadly spreading oak tree symbolizes their philosophy and commitment to changing the world through expansive networks and a strong support system.
Married to a Vision: Hasina Kharbhih
“A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until it has transformed all of society.” - Hasina Kharbhih
Hasina Kharbhih is one person chosen by Ashoka for a three-year fellowship. Her life exhibits those traits perfectly.
Hasina Kharbhih, Ashoka Fellow
A young Indian woman who works in Meghalaya in northern India, her work involves issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood. She first received recognition as a teenager when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living. Ashoka chose her because they want to help her in her efforts to spread theMeghalaya Model, an impressive and complete strategy to deal with child trafficking.
Her model is one of the most effective in all of Asia, and involves rescuing and restoring the lives of young girls caught in the web of human trafficking.
Many Ashoka Fellows go on to receive further recognition and awards:
● Kathryn Hall-Trujillo is the founder of the Birthing Project and was recently named one of the top 21 leaders of the 21st century by Women’s eNews. Her work emphasizes the life of the mother in countries like the U.S., Canada, Cuba, Ghana, Honduras and Malawi.
● Nnaemeka Ikegwuono was chosen as the 2010 Rolex Young Laureate for his work in improving the lives of farmers in Nigeria with his interactive rural radio service.
● In October of 2010, Alvaro Ugalde was a recipient of the prestigious Bravo Award for his work in water resource preservation in Costa Rica. He aided in establishing national parks in Costa Rica and is regarded as a top environmentalist.
Ashoka in the News
On November 12, 2010, Ashoka had the honor of attending the G20 Summit in South Korea. Ashoka’s Vice President Bill Carter joined President Barack Obama, Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to announce the winners of Ashoka’s Small and Medium Enterprise Contest.
William Foote’s Root Capital and Vineet Rai’s Aavishkaar were among the winners.
December 16, 2010 brought additional good news to Ashoka when Google announced it would donate $1 million to support their News and Knowledge Entrepreneur Program. This program operates at the “nexus of news knowledge, and social innovation”. They support entrepreneurs whose innovations promise to better inform, engage, and connect the world.
Bill Drayton will join 39 other visionaries whose goal is to transform the world through aSocial Entrepreneur Empowerment Series January 11th, 2011 through January 20th. Drayton will discuss how he came up with his concept and what you can do to change the world in your own way. It should be an exciting and inspirational tele-summit!
There are a number of exciting ways to get involved with Ashoka.
You can nominate a person who you believe has an incredible concept to better the world, or volunteer directly with an Ashoka Fellow. You can volunteer virtually or in the field. If you are the type of person who has been involved in leadership and civic activities your entire life, there may be a spot available for you as an Ashoka employee.
Social enterprise is a rapidly expanding field, and you will find that Ashoka is fast evolving into a major player.
Consider it Globalization 3.0, consider it socially conscious entrepreneurship.
But whatever you want to call it, one thing is for certain and that is everyone on the playing field is benefiting from the effort put in, not just the big businesses.
And that is what makes Ashoka real public innovators.
For a visual feel of what Ashoka is all about, check out this informative video on how people with system changing solutions are changing the world.
If you liked this post, please comment & share it with others.
No comments:
Post a Comment