Ashoka India focused on social entrepreneurship is expediting the economic growth of the country'

In conversation with Yashveer Singh:

1.     How does Ashoka identify and support the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to build an ‘Everyone a changemaker ’world?

Ashoka provides Ashoka fellowship to social entrepreneurs who meet our selection criteria. Ashoka identifies and supports social entrepreneurs who have innovative solutions to solve a complex social problem at the systems level. Ashoka Fellows are innovative social entrepreneurs who are championing new patterns for social good. Our Fellows also inspire people in their communities to embark on their changemaking journeys in solving problems around them, which helps create more and more changemakers in our society. We encourage Ashoka Fellows to take ownership of the network and we partner with them to co-create Ashoka’s vision of an Everyone a Changemaker world.

We induct social entrepreneurs in our network and create opportunities for them to collaborate with each other. Ashoka enables collaborations and engagements with our Fellows and we have immense learnings that come from the network and from the e social entrepreneurs’ work to drive large scale systemic change. Social Entrepreneurs play a key role in building an ‘Everyone a Changemaker’ society and Ashoka has been helping them do so by bringing together a community of changemakers and like-minded stakeholders.

2.     Do you envision a more accommodating India with the younger generation pioneering the changemaking concept?

In an everything changing world around us – being a changemaker and to have the ability to change is becoming new literacy. The demand for being someone who can problem solve is exponentially increasing. Also, The UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 have recognised that young people have a strong ability to drive change if they are provided with skills to contribute. We need every young person to grow up as a changemaker – who steps up to solve problems for the good of all. It is critical for India’s future that we build an ecosystem that enables young people to lead change from early on in life. Once a young person realizes their power to change, they pull together a team and iteratively evolve the idea until they experience change. And this creates a ripple effect on the society.

3.     With Gen Z being surrounded by existing youth culture, do you think the chain of inspiration will reach one and all?

The biggest influencers for young people are their peers. Young people stepping up early, challenging existing youth culture and broader expectations are powerful role models to help the society to start seeing the new reality.

So, at Ashoka, we believe that by identifying and supporting inspiring Teen Changemakers as Ashoka Young Changemakers working to solve a problem, we are recognising new type of role models for young people who have the potential to impact an entire generation. Our Ashoka Young Changemakers are deeply committed to the idea of helping others get their changemaking powers. We work with this community in influencing not just other young people but other stakeholders of society such as schools, parents, and the community at large to completely reimagine how young people are growing up.

4.     How does Ashoka support social entrepreneurs facing challenges? Do you support them financially and with dedicated mentors?

Ashoka is one of the largest networks of social entrepreneurs in the world. Our founder Mr. Bill Drayton coined the word ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ and started the organisation in 1980 to support world’s leading social entrepreneurs. Our main role at Ashoka in the last 40 years has been to build a community of the most inspiring social entrepreneurs of the world. We have supported around 4,000 social entrepreneurs so far by awarding them the Ashoka Fellowship, through which we provide stipends over three years. Social entrepreneurs inducted into the Ashoka Fellowship have access to other social and business entrepreneurs. We have often seen our Fellows draw support from each other and have seen many collaborations happen within our network which has amplified the impact that they would otherwise create.

5.     Do you think schools and colleges should include social activities and incorporate social entrepreneurship in their curriculum?

In this world of rapid change, it is important that every young person practice to be a changemaker. Which means that our definition of success in education and growing up should change, our education should change.  So, we all must have the skills of being a changemaker to thrive or succeed in this new world. If our young people don’t have these changemaker abilities, they can’t achieve their full potential.

Our schools and academic institutions have great opportunity to expose and immerse students to develop these skills early on. The goal should not be just to have a course but how in truest sense every student can develop these skills.

6.     How is Ashoka India expediting the economic growth of the country?

Ashoka has identified and serving the idea of creating an Everyone a Changemaker society which I believe is key to the growth of our economy. The ability to drive the change you want to see is the most important skill, regardless of the kind of work you are doing. Understanding a problem, visualizing a solution, forming a team, and promoting the change one wants to see is a powerful gift that you can give both yourself and the people around you. If we look around us, income distribution is getting worse. Numerous social and economic issues arise from the fact that some people have skills to contribute and others do not. So, helping society see this new reality and helping them act is an important step in expediting the economic growth of the country.

7.     How social entrepreneurs are adding value to society?

Social entrepreneurs are critical for any society. They are people who from deep within are committed for the good of all and so is their work. Social entrepreneurs bring a fundamental change in a pattern or mindset to eradicate or address an existing social problem at a systems level. They inspire everyone around them and the larger system to understand the possibility of what is possible.

Although, we realize that just a few social entrepreneurs are not enough to bring the change we want to see in our world. We need to empower everybody and transform the world from where only a few contribute to a world where everyone contributes. That we believe would be an Everyone a Changemaker world and most important contribution social entrepreneurs play is in inspiring society as a whole to create an Everyone a Changemaker society.