Building a new generation of Social Innovators

I was recently in Macedonia at the International President Meeting of AIESEC, the international youth leadership organisation, where I ran a session for the newly elected national presidents from 100 countries on goal-setting for the year ahead. I was a member of the organisation for 9 years and the cornerstone of its work is developing leaders who believe they can make a positive impact on the world.

During the meeting it occurred to me that the Young Foundation’s work on social innovation is often about getting already established organisations and leaders to be more innovative. Our research looks at what public sector organisations can do to support innovation, the ways in which innovations can be scaled up and why some areas are more innovative than others.  What if we developed a strand that focused on showing the next generation of leaders and managers how to innovate while they were still idealistic, receptive to new ideas and not hard formed in their views of the world? After all, while the adage states ‘you can’t teach an old dog a new trick’, you sure can teach a puppy a whole range of tricks.
 
Incorporating a study of social innovation and how social change happens into education provides a skill and an understanding of theories that can be applied irrespective of whatever career young people go into.

While the formal educational curriculum may be the first thought on how to integrate this, I would suggest using extra-curricular educational channels. Youth organisations like AIESEC, IAESTE, ELSA and AEGEE can provide a vehicle through which customised messaging can be used to diffuse the idea of social innovation into the hearts and minds of students around the world.

Specific means for doing this could include:

• Online courses supported by organisations like the World Bank Institute
• Integration into UNESCO’s Education for sustainable development initiative
• Running sessions at local, national and international events of these youth organisations
• Providing spaces for student participants at conferences and events on social innovation such as Skoll Forum, Tallberg Forum etc
• Supporting youth led practical projects that are innovative.
• Student run events specifically addressing the subject of social innovation from a range of perspectives and for a range of specialisations

Given the interest in developing talented future leaders who have an interest in positively impacting society, I don’t think there would be a shortage of organisations interested in providing the resources to support this initiative.

Beyond the education of these students, their involvement in our work on social innovation would provide an opportunity for fresh and challenging insights which could be useful in refining our work.

A first step in the right direction would be inviting youth organisations to the conference on social innovation happening in Lisbon in May.