On 3rd May 2019, an inspiring 5-day Design Workshop ended with a Grand Finale announcing the top 8 winning innovation concepts to an audience of social innovators and activists from across the globe.
Moderated by our favorite design thinker Moritz Gekeler, the event went smoothly despite a few technical imperfections. Even though there was a little more nervousness in the air, the audience seemed to truly enjoy the intimate space and surprising moments when Adrien and Arnaud from team Zero Injustice and Jackie from team Activist's Best Friend came on stage to perform a spontaneous rap.
The message was very clear: Zero injustice doesn’t mean zero fun. And for those who followed us, commented in our Innovation Forum and watched the event live on Facebook:
Thank you so much for the awesome support!
Here are the top 8 social innovations 🏆
Uganda's Community Voices (Jonathan Tusubira)
Uganda's Community Voices support up-country FM radios to affordably cover hyper-local (Human Interest) stories from villages and had to reach areas using Media Literacy approaches and open source ICT tools. The idea is based on the watchdog role the media plays as the fourth estate and the positive correlation between freedom of expression and higher incomes, lower infant mortality and increased adult literacy which are key anchors in poverty alleviation. The platform will also help radios increase accountability in local service delivery while also empowering newsrooms to accommodate diverse views.
Website: www.cemcod.org
ReGrow (Tiffany Tong and Sonika Manandhar)
Watch: Innovation Pitch - ReGrow
ReGrow is an SMS platform using digital tokens to channel impact investments into fueling the growth of women-owned agriculture micro-enterprises. Digital tokens are a flexible form of shop credit that can only be spent at pre-approved vendors. ReGrow helps solve the problem of trust between funders and borrowers. Funders can trust that the loans will be spent on business expenses and borrowers without collateral or credit history can access affordable finance.
Website: https://www.aeloi.com
Family Strengthening Toolkit (Esther John)
The Family Strengthening Toolkit focuses on strengthening each family using methods that suit each best. It is about empowering families by equipping them with the much-needed tools and knowledge to ensure that their rights are upheld by their local authorities while fulfilling duties towards their own children.
Website: www.leads.lk
Living University (Vaneshran Arumugam)
The Living University is a place (and space) designed to creatively and holistically combat hunger and lack of nutrition - of the body, mind and spirit - through collaborative activities and learning methods rooted in the performing arts. It seeks to draw people and knowledge together interdependently and to create innovative and impactful engagements with the environment we are in, that develop each of us and also supports our working together to create the world we want.
The Humanity Union (Jagadananda and Thomas Schindler)
The idea behind The Humanity Union (THU) is simple: Activists provide an important service to society by pointing out things that are not live-serving. When doing so, they often risk their safety and security, livelihood, health, freedom and often even their lives. THU aims at de-risking the important work these people do by providing an insurance framework for activists.
Website: https://www.cysd.org/
Activist's Best Friend (Lulu Thomas Meiyan and Jackie Wahome)
Activist’s Best Friend (ABF) is a digital app that provides support to social activists working in the field, who constantly face challenges and often lack quick and easily accessible assistance to aid in their work. Through the app, social activists will be able to access and download resources such as templates and field toolkits relevant to their work. They can also sign up for self-paced e-courses to either learn new concepts or refresh their memory from previously attended workshops. These will be in the form of animated videos and educational games to help reinforce the lessons. Lastly, the app will provide a network of peers through which users can share experiences, exchange ideas, and mentor each other. With this kind of support, ABF ensures that social activists will be better equipped to serve their communities, and the constant support will keep the fire burning and ensure a longer lasting impact.
Website: https://www.easuncentre.org
Zero Injustice (Arnaud Bilande and Adrien Roux)
In Douala, Nairobi, Tunis and Monrovia, community organisations are bringing citizens together to push local authorities to deliver better public services and to correct mistakes and injustices. Lack of water access for some poor neighbourhood, absence of teachers for two months in a local school, lack of medicine in a health center. We have worked with these organisations to develop ZeroInjustice.in/[MyCity], a tool assisting local leaders and organizers to construct citizen capacities and ensure better authorities accountability through 3 functions: (1) help every citizen and local leader to share the injustice he/she is facing and map it, (2) match with other people with the same concern to organise meetings, (3) track institutions for the follow-up of citizen demands and public engagements of decision-makers.
Website: https://www.projet-react.org/en/
Smart Social Contracts (Massimo Lomuscio)
Smart Social Contracts is based on the belief that consumers and companies should always be able to make an impact. Built on the new technology called blockchain, Smart Social Contracts bring transparency to the Corporate Social Responsibility, creating a new, true connection between products and purpose.
Website: at http://smartsocialcontracts.com/
You missed the pitches and want to see the full event again? Watch now!
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About the Author:
Trang Nguyen has a degree in Social Sciences and has worked in different development organisations, including a research institute, in Germany, Vietnam, and India. She is a full-time staff at CSA and her roles include marketing communication, IT-infrastructure, team and happiness, as well as facilitation. Trang is a young, creative and forward-thinking person who loves to learn, share and connect with like-minded and peers.
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