Last night, we had the opportunity to attend a special speaking event with Ashoka founder Bill Drayton. Presented by MaRS Discovery District, Social Innovation Generation and Ashoka Canada, the event was an open dialogue with Bill on social innovation, social entrepreneurship and building a future world of changemakers.

Bill Drayton pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, and according to him it’s not enough to be happy in the game of life; we must constantly be reinventing the game. This mindset is what has led to Ashoka Fellows all over the world working to solve social problems through innovation. To say the least, the talk was fascinating and thought provoking, and thanks to the world of social media, many of the points were captured through #IASI14.

If you’re new to Ashoka and the changemaker concept, you may want to start by reading our Giving Life series “Ashoka Fellows: Social Innovation Demystified”. This collaborative series highlights some of the amazing work being done in Canada by Ashoka Fellows – all changemakers.

If you are familiar with the changemaker concept, enjoy some of our favourite points from last night, captured through social media and the hashtag:

Bill Drayton: there is numbers-change, pattern-change, mindset change. The latter two are the goal _Everyone_ a changemaker #IASI14

— SiG (@sigeneration) June 19, 2014

“The single most important thing we all have to give ourselves is PERMISSION. Permission to do it. ” -Bill Drayton #IASI14 @Ashoka

— Kidogo (@Kidogo_ECD) June 19, 2014

Drayton: There is no way the problems can outweigh solutions in tomorrow’s world #IASI14

— Seher Shafiq (@seher_shafiq) June 19, 2014

“#Canada can be a pace setting country for change….it can inspire US, Mexico, and India to follow in its footsteps” – Bill Drayton #IASI14

— Ashoka Canada (@AshokaCanada) June 19, 2014

Click here to explore more of the conversation on Twitter.

Updated on October 31, 2024