Resilience has for some time been a recurring word and a point of interest in a reality where development and growth are not sustainable. Now, with the onset of the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, there are as many uncertainties as there are chances that things will not change. Resilience is no longer just a return from a bad situation, but becomes the way the situation is managed as it develops, the way it responds, plans and transforms, being motivated to make efforts beyond it.
More than ever, communities need to find ways to be self-sustaining and respond quickly to change in order to survive. Innovation comes from unexpected dialogues, interactions and collaborations. In this context, the community must find comfort in not knowing, continue to develop to become learning organizations capable of accepting problems that do not have an initial meaning and to develop the ability to act on new solutions in a changed environment. We all need to learn to listen and adapt, to reflect and recreate, to keep asking (new) questions and to look for answers where we have not looked so far.
Well-known industries and fields of activity need to merge in new ways and therefore new boundaries are needed. Because it is not easy, but we need to create new ways to approach this cross-sectional collaboration. We will start with traditional industries and traditional communities both around the embassy, locally and internationally, but also around Ashoka Romania, nationally and globally.
Ashoka network mapping is a process that uses snowball analysis to identify key innovators, influencers and decision-makers in a particular sector and to visualize patterns and trends, as well as the potential of future network connections.
Together with an alliance of partners across Europe, Ashoka contributes to mitigating the immediate disruptions that COVID19 brings to European communities while playing a vital role in addressing the long-term consequences of the crisis on our societies and economies.
Through the Changemakers United program, we provide, disseminate, support, connect and develop innovative social entrepreneurship solutions, designed specifically to address the challenges that COVID19 brings. We do this using the Ashoka network of social innovators, as well as the networks of partners and the communities they belong to. The Global Online Summit Changemakers United is the most visible stage of the initiative, where we presented 20 social innovators invited to the program and their systemic solutions to the pandemic and its consequences.
All of the above took place through meetings and co-creation meetings. There were a number of meetings for networking communities, experts, and resources at the resilience action blocks, starting with prototype projects based on existing needs.
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