Citizen Participation

This article summarises highlights from the first SIX Dialogue Series: Social innovation for Resilience – the Taiwan Approach, between Audrey Tang and Geoff Mulgan.  When we see “internet of things”, let’s make it an internet of beings. When we see “virtual reality”, let’s make it a shared reality. When we see “machine learning”, let’s make it ... 5 things we should learn from Taiwan to build a resilient society

On Tuesday 21st July, Social Innovation Exchange held our first Global Dialogue.  Speaking with Audrey Tang, Digital Minister of the Taiwan government and Geoff Mulgan, Professor at UCL on Collective Intelligence and Social Innovation, Marco Shek, Asia Lead- Partnerships, Capacity Building and Development at SIX, spoke about how collective intelligence and trust-building has enabled Taiwan to be resilient. The hour-long discussion ... WATCH: Social Innovation for Resilience – the Taiwan Approach

Last week, the WHO officially declared Coronavirus a pandemic. Since then, a feeling of being out of control is spreading around the world. One by one, governments declare national emergencies and implement lockdown policies. The streets of London were quiet this morning, and for those who are not socially isolating themselves, ‘social distancing’ is becoming ... Global exchange in the age of Coronavirus

By Fábio Deboni, Executive Manager at the Sabin Institute. While Social Innovation seems to continue to be on the rise, there is also some disagreement as to what it actually means. This issue has been previously discussed, and the purpose of this article is to discuss the need for the approaches of/for/about social innovation to also be able to innovate ... It’s time to innovate social innovation

As coronavirus is challenging global markets, and shining a light on many of our structural inequalities (most prominent is lack of access to wifi and resources for e-learning for many children when schools close), the power of ordinary citizens is coming to the fore once again. At SIX, we believe in looking beyond our borders ... Coronavirus and social innovation – Why we need to keep learning globally

This year, we at the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX) hosted a  Winter School for Hallym University. The 5-day programme in London tackled pressing social issues and started students on their journey to become changemakers.  Focusing on the theme of ‘Community Spaces in the 21st Century’, we explored how place and social innovation interact to create thriving ... 5 ways community spaces are using social innovation to #ReimagineSpace

During a work trip to South Africa, to participate in the final symposium of the Erasmus+ funded Common Good First project, I arranged a meeting with Sonja Giese to learn about the work of Innovation Edge. I had heard about them from a former colleague who participated in a funders roundtable several years earlier and I had ... Think Future Reflections- Designing Events for Innovation

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written ... Cities for the imagination

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger. Ben Okri In the small actions of how you eat or what kind of energy you use or how you study or how you work, there are big ideas implicit in these very small things, and that’s what gives them so much meaning ... Making the heart bigger: The stories of the Unusual Suspects Festival

As cities grow in size and significance, they can become sites of complex social problems – but also hubs for exploring possible solutions. While every city faces distinct problems, they all share a need for innovative approaches to tackle today’s challenges. This essay is one in a series on future trends for innovative cities, written by the leading thinkers of the Mayor of Seoul’s ... How can a city empower its youth to create their own global future?

As part of a series of articles from A Better Way’s new book Insights for a Better Way, So Jung Rim, looks at why mass participation is better than centralised power. I started working in this field known as ‘social innovation’ at the Hope Institute, a think-and-do tank in South Korea, with the motto “I ... Why we should engage diverse voices in mass participation

In conversation with Nowon Park, Jun Hyung Shim, Sooyeon Lee.  Interviewed by So Jung RimPhotographs by Kwansoo Ahn This month, we connected with a delegation from the Social Innovation Taskforce from the South Korean government, representing four different departments, Ministry of Interior and Safety, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, and ... Conversation with Social Innovation Task Force from the Government of South Korea

There is no people power in this country Participant during the social innovation workshop in Myanmar The above quote is rather representative of our recent experience of running social innovation training workshops and meeting young students in South East Asia. Another participant in Myanmar used an analogy to express the frustration he felt. “We are ... How does the agency for social innovation arise? Enabling social innovation capacity in Thailand and Myanmar

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. Abraham Lincoln  It’s been another eventful year at SIX, with a growing team, activities and ... Highlights 2017 – How has social innovation shifted and how has SIX contributed?

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main John Donne I’ve realised that since being at this Festival  that I’ve been involved in politics and activism my entire life.’ Peter Macfadyen (Independents for Frome) To say it was disconcerting to be led ... Follow Our Movement- Reflections following the Rethink Activism Festival in Aarhus

This document is a four year review of the Unusual Suspects Festival model and events. Following the success of the London festival, we wanted to review all our past events and think strategically about how best to take the festival model onwards. All the festivals have reinforced that collaboration is a skill, not a hobby. ... The Unusual Suspects Festival- London Impact Report: 4 Years in Review

In February 2017, SIX hosted our first global Wayfinder event in London. We brought together more than 160 leaders from 34 countries to explore the future of social innovation and our roles within it. There were some clear messages about the very core of what we do, why we do it, and why it matters. Some of ... A global response to the most important questions facing the field of social innovation

At times it seems no wonder that social isolation and loneliness are on the increase. Quite frankly it’s tough out there, with rising inequalities in health, education, housing and public services that appear to be closer to breaking point than ever before. Tough times can also be tough on our relationships as human beings. We ... How human connections can form a solid foundation for social change- Lessons for the Unusual Suspects Festival

Author Charlie Leadbeater concluded the SIX Wayfinder with six things that social innovation can offer to the future:  I want to say a few things of what might be coming and how to interact with it. Over the past two days at the Wayfinder, we’ve had a lot of conversations on the good work that we do and the ... 6 things social innovation can offer to an out of control world

Dangshu (Jaff) Shen and Fan Li from Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation have collaborated with various individuals in East Asia working on the emerging frontiers of research and innovation in the field to create a collection of practices and perspectives on social innovation from East Asian countries. Leping Social Entrepreneur Foundation is part of SIX Global Council. Stanford Social Innovation ... East Asia’s Role in Global Social Innovation

Photo Credit: Quipu project We spoke with Sandra Tabares-Duque from Quipu Project about the power of storytelling. The Quipu project is currently featured on Guardian Documentaries here. Also, find out more about Quipu project and hear more testimonies on their interactive platform. What is storytelling for you? Why do you think it is important?  I think that storytelling is ... What can social innovators learn from the power of personal testimony? Lessons from the Quipu project in Peru

As usual, the Unusual Suspects festival showed lots of things that are not found during an average social innovation event… 1) We facilitated unlikely connections creating genuine social change Orode Faka from Roehampton R.O.C.K.S. met Louise Foreman from the Young Foundation for the first time at the Unusual Suspects ideas exchange, months before the Festival began London on ... 10 unusual things about the Unusual Suspects Festival

This was originally published on URBACT and was written by Peter Ramsden on April 25th, 2016. The subject of the Eurocities Social Forum in Nantes on March 16th was citizen involvement in social innovation.  Cities are now leading Europe on social innovation across a range of fields from health and care to integrating migrants.  The message of the ... The Citizen as Mayor: Citizen participation in social innovation

Across the world, development and social challenges are increasingly more complex and urgent. From INGOs to community organisations to governments, finding new ways of working to meet these challenges is more of a priority than ever. The organisations that are best placed to deliver the biggest impact are those that are highly connected, that are agile ... How to be more innovative in your practice: 6 reflections from SIX and Hivos

How can mayors be more involved in driving social innovation at a city level? Social Innovation Europe recently asked Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam, the Netherlands to share his insight on innovation in his city. Please allow me to say that I am so happy with the subject you have chosen for this interview. This is a subject ... Driving social innovation at a city level: Mayor Aboutaleb on Rotterdam

The original post about this report can be found on Nesta website here. This Nesta report tells the stories of cities around the world – from Beijing to Amsterdam, and from London to Jakarta – that are addressing urban challenges by using digital technologies to engage and enable citizens. Key findings Many ‘top down’ smart city ... Rethinking Smart Cities from the Ground Up

How to organise and run a social lab? Lab Practice aims to share experiences from doing a social lab with elderly people in Amsteldorp by sharing methodologies and stories from both changemakers and social lab facilitators. In the face of fast moving, global, often elusive developments, national governments and their counterparts (public sector) find it ... Lab Practice: creating spaces for social change

This article was written by Chris Vanstone (Director of Co-design, TACSI) and is part of our SIX Global Council series on Ideas for the Future.  The commonsensical approach of doing with rather than to might just be sticking, in places. A decade and a half of work on people powered public services and a long demand ... People Powered Everything?

As civil society grows in post-colonial Hong Kong, participatory art has registered a heightened local consciousness, the desire to be autonomous and attempts to resist various kinds of hegemony in the 2000s and the 2010s. This essay aims to provide an empirical base for further studies by examining exemplary works, namely Complaints Choir of Hong ... Taking part: participatory art and the emerging civil society in Hong Kong

This article was written by Geoff Mulgan (CEO, Nesta) and is part of our SIX Global Council series on Ideas for the Future.  Over the last 50 years vast sums of public money have been spent supporting digital innovation in the military and business.   These fuelled transformative new phenomena – from drones to mass surveillance, Amazon ... Digital Social Innovation – Future directions

Jordan Junge reflects on SIX’s recent event in Johannesburg, South Africa. Standing in a hot field in Soweto, we saw the vision for the future. There would be a juice bar in the corner, Bob Marley blasting out of the speakers, and people of all ages from the community hand picking their fruit and veg. ... 10 trends of social innovation in South Africa

By Eddy Adams, URBACT expert On the business card of Won Soon Park,Seoul’s dynamic and charismatic Mayor, there is a drawing of a spoon-billed sandpiper, with the legend small but can fly further. Mr. Park is very interested in how far he and his city can fly, and if you ever wanted proof of the value ... Meeting the Seoul Man

Participatory, user-centric approaches to solving problems are gaining momentum as alternatives to traditional organizations. Among these approaches is the innovation Lab, a creative, multi-disciplinary environment that employs a proven and repeatable protocol to seek disruptive, potentially systems-tipping solutions. Labs: Designing the Future, published in 2012, examines the Lab’s roots in complexity, networked collaboration and design ... Labs: Designing the future

Against the context of rapid economic, social and environmental change, a collective reflection is taking place on how to build more sustainable routes to share prosperity. In the meantime, an increasing number and wide range of change-makers have already found ways to imagine and grow a different economy in our cities, towns, neighbourhoods and villages. ... Compendium for the civic economy

The City of Malmo is conducting a pre-study investigation funded by the European Commission into how they might establish a series of ‘Innovation forums’ in four deprived areas of the city. They see it as a method to generate new ideas and develop real solutions to some of Malmo’s social problems through inclusive processes well-rooted ... City of Malmo: Innovation forums and incubating social innovation