Founded in 1980 by Bill Drayton,
claiming to be home to the changemakers of the world, Ashoka is THE peer network of entrepreneurs
pursuing radical ideas that change the patterns of society, the so-called
Ashoka Fellows. For instance, one of the most popular fellows is Kailash
Satyarthi, who won the Nobel Peace Price in 2014. These fellows are granted
support both intellectually and financially by a broad base of strategic
partners including traditional companies, thought leading institutions and the
like. It provides a platform that leverages the talent to find solutions for
social problems on a global scale. More than 30,000 social innovations have
already been created by Ashoka Fellows. Thus, the impact of Ashoka is just
enormous.
Incredibly, 80% of these
entrepreneurs developed their idea in their early teens. The mission clearly is
to change the world for the good of all. Once being elected to join the circle
of fellows, one is a member for the entire lifetime. All in all, there are
currently almost 3,000 of them being active in more than 80 countries around
the globe. Its fellows engage in fields ranging from education, over energy to
financial services. Hence: a diverse bunch of hugely creative and passionate
do-gooders!
Empathy constitutes a major
approach of Ashoka of how to improve existing conditions. The education and
development of leaders is essential to find solutions for problems traditional
institutions cannot solve. Despite having made systems easier, more convenient,
and more efficient, they did not know how to use these systems to help the
people not benefitting from them. Therefore, a new way of thinking has to be
established that empowers every individual to make a sustaining contribution in
order to counteract. This philosophy puts the spotlight on the motives of
Ashoka.
