Wednesday, May 11, 2011

You are invited: Ashoka Forum 2011


Ashoka Forum 2011: Everyone a Changemaker
May 26th, MaRs Discovery District 

Every year, Ashoka inducts new social entrepreneurs, or, "Ashoka Fellows", into its global network, which currently stands at 2700 Fellows.  

Anil Patel, Framework
Reflecting back to September when I started volunteering at Ashoka, I didn't really understand the significance of an Ashoka Fellow's work.  However, after months of engaging with these individuals, learning and working with them, I get it...now I understand why Ashoka spends endless hours selecting these individuals, and why there is so much emphasis placed on a candidate's new idea, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical fibre, creativity, and of course, social impact.  

Cindy Blackstock, First Nations CFCS
These are the top change-leaders in the world, and on may 26th, we are celebrating the addition of a new cohort of Canadian Fellows into our network.

I've been to many events in the social innovation space; some I find very useful and others I find vague and confusing.  The Ashoka Forum is different, because you will interact with and learn from the people who are actively solving Canada's most pressing social issues and making great strides in the process.  If they weren't, they wouldn't be elected as Fellows.

The event is broken down into two parts:  
The Action Dialogue (the afternoon) and the   
30 Year Celebration (the evening).  You can register for one of the events, or both. 
They both take place at MaRs Discovery District on May 26th.

If you are interested in social entrepreneurship, if you want to be inspired  and learn what Ashoka is all about, I strongly encourage you to attend the evening 30 Year Celebration.  You will hear from each of the new Fellows and have a chance to meet them while snacking on some delicious food.  This event will run from 5:30-7:30pm.

If you are a social innovation guru or are eager to learn more about this growing field, the Action Dialogue is the event for you.  Canadian and global leaders are joining forces to provide an afternoon of intense networking and learning.  Here's how the afternoon will flow:
Tonya Surman, founder of CSI
  • Ashoka Fellow Panel, facilitated by the Centre for Social Innovation's one and only, Tonya Surman.
  • Breakout sessions, for which you have 3 options:
      1. Social-mission Investing
      2. Community-Business Collaboration for Sustainability
      3. Citizens Re-defined
The Action Dialogue starts at 2:00pm, ending at 5:00pm, leading into the 30 Year Celebration.   There are student discounts available!

I'm so excited for the 26th, and really hope you can join.  If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.  

Take the time for yourself to be inspired.   Learn about issues in Canada you never knew existed. Celebrate 30 years of social entrepreneurship and scaling impact.  

Join us on the 26th.



No comments:

Post a Comment