Picture from The Crispone

The idea

Tackling social problems in complex and interconnected environments require new participatory tools and methodology where creativity and service design stand first.

The local context

We live in a world where more than 30% of the population uses the Internet and 87% are mobile phone subscribers. Consequently billions of people all over the world are connected through various social technologies. Online communities offer advice, tips, tools and experience where people can get help from anyone in the world (Read also Digital Community Tools and Social platfroms). However to ensure effective dialogue and project vitalization, real interactions and physical meetings are essential.

Key concepts

  • User-led innovation - refers to the mechanism where your project (i.e. product/service) get improved by the users themselves (people-powered design). http://userinnovation.undp.sk/|MORE]
  • The creative collaborative paradigm is a new way to co-build participatory dynamics and roadmap in community projects. MORE
  • Crowdsourcing: " the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community" MORE
  • Social innovation. How can we generate social innovation?

Examples of creative support networks events

ONLINE AND OFFLINE CHALLENGES

Makesense MakeSense is an open project built by a community of people passionate about Social Entrepreneurship, Innovation and the Web. The idea is to connect Social Entrepreneurs with individuals ready to take up their challenges. "Turn your talents, skills and connections into unique superpowers to solve challenges of Social Entrepreneurs. Play along with 10,000 Sense-Makers accross the globe." The process: Spot a Social Entrepreneur, take up his challenge, and celebrate with Sense-Makers across the globe once it has been solved. To build the project with the team, send a mail to join à makesense.org with a bio and a picture included. HOLD-UPS: The offline community of Makesense can help you organize a hold-up which is a 1h30 creativity workshop gathering 15 persons to solve a concrete challenge of social entrepreneurs registered on the Makesense platform

GoodforNothing events (London/UK): “Smart folk collaborating and experimenting to solve stuff that matters; Good for Nothing is a community of thinkers, do-ers, makers and tinkerers applying their skills and energy to accelerate the work of cause-led innovators and change makers; it's about diverse groups of people collaborating together, working in new, faster, fun and better ways by supporting ideas and people that are leading the way to what a flourishing 21st century society might look like. The association proposes online and offline events they coin themselves as “think hack do creative collaboration event things”.

OpenIDEO: (Worldwide): OpenIDEO is an open innovation platform to solve big challenges for social good

Social Innovation Camps: (Wordlwide): Social Innovation Camp matches software developers and those with an understanding of a social problem to help them start and grow technology-based social ventures.

DesignChallenge for social good: (UK): The UK DesignCouncil runs competitions that use design to address societal issues. The idea is to show how design can create practical solutions to complex problems and stimulate opportunities for enterprise.

Enabledbydesign"Enabled by Design is a social business run on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of its community. It’s all about people-powered products and services."

CHANGEMAKERS SUPPORT

Sandbox Changemakers Network (Zurich-Switzerland): Created in 2008, this network identifies people under 30 with remarkable achievements and helps them meet together through more than 150 yearly events. The network has hubs in 25 cities all over the world and work with 800 young changemakers.

Ashoka Fellowsips (Worldwide): Ashoka is a Foundation providing social entrepreneurs with high replicability and social impact projects a longterm tailored support (3years fellowship with free profesionnal consultancy, communication tools and visibility) « With nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries putting their system changing ideas into practice on a global scale Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide. »

AWARENESS RAISING

TEDX Conferences (WORLDWIDE): “TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. At TEDx events, a screening of TEDTalks videos — or a combination of live presenters and TEDTalks videos — sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis. » More info on how to organize an event http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/493#general-rules

Conférences Gesticulées (in France) : La conférence gesticulée est un outil d’éducation populaire et genre comico-pédagogique inventé par Franck Lepage de la SCOP Le pavé en 2006

DATA BASE OF CREATIVE EVENTS