For more than 15 years, SIX has connected social innovators across sectors and continents, from summer schools in Seoul and Bogotá to an Indaba in Bloemfontein. This booklet looks back on that journey. It tells the story of how a breakfast conversation in Beijing in 2006 grew into a global network, and draws out four lessons from practice: constantly experimenting, embracing power, centring context and bridging silos. Each lesson combines stories from SIX’s own work, inspiring examples from around the world and reflections on what we have learnt. Contributions come from long-standing friends of the network, including a foreword by co-founder Geoff Mulgan.
The booklet also marks the start of a new chapter. As of July 2025, SIX has evolved into EdelGive with SIX, a partnership with India-based EdelGive Foundation that brings together a small, agile network and a stable institution rooted in the Global South. The booklet sets out where this new collaboration is heading: working at the edges, reframing where knowledge comes from, and focusing on action rather than talk. It ends with an open invitation to everyone working on these questions to join us for the next 15 years.
