This piece is published by Ashoka Philippines through Rappler’s Lighthouse.
At Ashoka, we believe that everyone can be a changemaker. We’ve learned time and time again that there are countless people who are working for the good of their communities. However, this journey of being a changemaker often feels lonely and overwhelming.
This is why we believe in the undervalued impact of bringing changemakers together. In this world of interconnected complex problems that are always changing, we must learn to break out of our silos and work with people from different backgrounds to tackle these big challenges.
To this end, we’ve held a quarterly Impact Happy Hours event in Manila for several years now. We’ve co-organized a similar space in Puerto Princesa, Palawan called Arampangan, which is now being run independently by the local impact community, including two Ashoka Fellows.
Fortunately, when we floated the idea of bringing this kind of event in other parts of the country in our network, Foundation University and its innovation arm, Greyhound Innovations expressed enthusiastic interest. This is how we formed the first Changemakers Connect in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.
The poster of the Changemakers Connect event.
The casual get-together was held on October 18 at Foundation University. Attendees were from academia, social enterprises, youth organizations, and local government agencies. These diverse changemakers were united by a curiosity of what they could learn from each other, without expecting any transaction. They realized that everyone is bringing something to the table and that building relationships with other people is integral to taking their impact to the next level.
The bottomline: Don’t underestimate the power of a conversation!
Which province or city do you think we should go to next?
Leave your suggestions below or send us a message at philippines@ashoka.org!