Last Friday, the inspiring 5-day Design Workshop ended with a Grand Finale announcing the top 8 winning concepts to an audience of social innovators from 20 countries. Many of them had just given a pitch themselves the evening before.
The evening before the big day: “We are the champions”
Through a creative voting process of giving each innovator a cheque book which can’t exceed 100 Impact Dollars, innovators were only allowed to invest in their colleagues’ concepts but not themselves. The full amount had to be spent and overspending is strictly prohibited. Hence, some invested everything in one concept, while others took time to distribute the money evenly to many of their favorites. By the end of the night, we proudly disclosed the results to the groups. Even though only 12 concepts were selected to pitch on the next day, for a short moment we all felt like champions. It was amazing to see how many people decided to stay back to help the winning teams prepare for the Grand Finale. Some gave creative inputs and some were simply there to share emotional support. Unlike other competitive events, this one felt more like a family, a collaborative and empathetic community of humans who are committed to create social impact.
The big day: Zero Injustice
The Grand Finale wouldn’t be a grand finale if it was locked away from the public eye. This is why the event was live streamed on Facebook attracting thousands of viewers. Moderated by our favorite design thinker Moritz Gekeler, the event went smoothly despite a few technical imperfections. And just like our participants, we were able to solve those problems by seeing solutions in everything around us. Not everything was perfect, but we perfectly enjoyed each moment. 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 share a spontaneous rap.
The message was very clear: Zero injustice doesn’t mean zero fun. And for those who followed us, commented on the Forum and watched us live on Facebook: Thank you so much for the awesome support!
A big thank to our panel of judges – a vibrant and diverse group of humans who quickly became our friends:
- Mr. Timotheus Felder-Roussety, Counsellor Social and Labour Affairs, German Embassy India
- Mrs. Malika Srivastana, Executive Director, Centre for Microfinance, Tata Trust
- Mr. Soumitra Gosh, Manager Innovation for Change, curated by CIVICUS
- Mrs. Bettina Iseli, Programmes Director, Welthungerhilfe (live from Germany)
At around 1:15 PM India time, the winning concepts and teams were announced in a small CSA-styled ceremony with the names written on a big white chart. We can’t wait to announce them again!
Are you ready? And the Award goes to…
🏆 Jury’s Choice Award - Family Strengthening Toolkit (Esther from Sri Lanka) - Uganda’s Community Voices (Jonathan from Uganda) - ReGrow (Tiffany and Sonika from Nepal) - Smart Social Contracts (Massimo from UK/Italy) - Living University (Vaneshran from South Africa) - The Humanity Union (Jagadananda from India and Thomas from Germany)
🏆 Facilitator’s Choice Award - Activist's Best Friend (Lulu from Tanzania and Jackie from Kenya)
🏆 Popular Choice Award - Zero Injustice (Arnaud from Belgium and Adrien from France)
You missed the pitches and want to see the full event again?
The Grand Finale is now available on our Youtube channel. Watch now!
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