News on The Edge
Welcome to the Social Edge update!
A few years ago, Arianna Huffington wrote a book exploring what drives us to include the world around us in our individual caring. Not surprisingly then, she went to the Skoll World Forum last month to speak on a panel addressing Catastrophic Risk and Threats to the Global Commons.
This week, she is on Social Edge connecting empathy with social change. She writes: “Empathy is the one quality we most need if we’re going to survive and flourish in the twenty-first century.”
She refers to Jonas Salk, who was convinced we were transitioning from survival and competition to collaboration and meaning –a transition facilitated by this decade’s spectacular advances in technology and social media.
She agrees with Jeremy Rifkin that empathy lies at the very core of human existence –it’s not just a quaint behavior to be trotted out during a post-earthquake or tsunami mobile-thon.
The solutions to our problems will not come from the political, media, and financial institutions, but from each of us making a personal commitment and taking action. And for that, we will need “innovation nurtured by an entrepreneurial spirit, and empathy nurtured by a strong civil society.”
Great social entrepreneurs are able to combine their scientific and managerial expertise with their gifts for empathy. When Arianna Huffington reads their stories, she is reminded of the combustible creativity that results when empathy meets imagination, and, she says, “I am filled with hope.”
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Join this Week’s Live Discussions
Cultivating Empathy
Arianna Huffington thinks “empathy is the one quality we most need if we’re going to survive and flourish in the twenty-first century.” Do you agree? What other qualities do we need?
The Next Wave
Who are the next thought leaders? Where are the breaking ideas, the roads as yet untaken, the path-bending organizations that will shape the future? Tell Charles (hipbone) Cameron where the next wave is coming from. And where it will take us.
FLUX: Learnings from Skoll World Forum 2012
Parag Gupta thinks the Skoll World Forum perfectly mirrors the growth of the social entrepreneurship movement. But what’s next? What are the issues that social entrepreneurs and intermediaries must contend with? Join him in the conversation.
Social Activism and Social Impact
Riders for Health’s Lakshmi Karan looks at the difference between social activists and social entrepreneurs. Tell us how we can help them bridge the gap and better work together to drive large-scale change.
Social Impact Bonds
They are partnerships structured as pay-for-performance contracts to help government transition from existing remedial programs to higher-impact, lower-cost preventive solutions. McKinsey’s Laura Callanan tells you why Social Impact Bonds matter.
From Social Entrepreneurship to Cultural Entrepreneurship
Shifts in beliefs and attitudes don’t occur overnight. Does this mean we need to create yet another category in the social change universe –cultural entrepreneurship? Join Fenton’s Lisa Witter in the conversation.
False Economy: A Depressing Triple Entendre
The “free market capitalism” model has mostly been proven to be unsustainable –a false economy, writes ClearlySo CEO Rod Schwartz. But is the emerging social economy a better model?
Smooth Transitions in Turbulent Times
We live in times of very rapid change, and under many threats. But somehow, we feel optimistic. Charles (hipbone) Cameron wonders how social entrepreneurs can realistically create smooth transitions in these very turbulent times.
Social Enterprise: The New Center?
We need to be at the intersection of competitive and cooperative, and build businesses that compete for development and collaborate for success. Charles (hipbone) Cameron wonders: Is social enterprise the new center?
Social Entrepreneurship in China
Any serious discussion about the social and environmental challenges we collectively face must take into account China, writes SOW Asia CEO Scott Lawson. So what does social entrepreneurship look like in the Middle Kingdom?