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How to Change The World

The Big Idea

This book documents the true and inspiring stories of the Ashoka fellows - bright, energetic, and creative individuals who are leaders in a growing citizen (non-profit) sector. These innovators for the public are instrumental in introducing change in their countries through practical solutions. Most of them started out with tiny budgets, armed only with an idea and strength of will.

From Ashoka founder Bill Drayton, to Brazil’s Vera Cordeiro, to South Africa’s Veronica Khosa, or India’s Jeroo Billimoria, the book also includes a chapter to illustrate the spirit of one of the first social entrepreneurs- Florence Nightingale. These individuals are models of human capability. They worked tirelessly in the service of others.

 

Why Ashoka?
Ashoka is named after the great Indian emperor who unified South Asia in the third century B.C. He pioneered in economic development and social welfare. In Sanskrit, Ashoka means the “active absence of sorrow”.

For the organization’s logo, Drayton chose an oak tree, because the oak provides a place where villagers meet. It is a tree that comforts people in its shade, spreads its roots far and deep, and is resistant to drought.

Selecting Ashoka Material

Fellows who qualify receive an annual stipend that allows them to dive into their work full-time. The Ashoka fellows are innovative because they are dedicated to instituting programs and building foundations, creating and modifying systems that were non-existent, trailblazing new ideas in areas where most governments fail to provide long-term solutions.

These social entrepreneurs are passionate about making their part of the world a better place, and know exactly how to go about it.

 

Social Entrepreneurs Around the Globe

Ashoka invests in people. Its roster of social entrepreneurs is made of people who build their programs from nothing, drawing strength and energy from the sheer belief that change can happen.  They challenge governments to pass and enforce new laws, generate funding, and support their solutions.

This book concentrates on nine stories: Fabio Rosa, Bill Drayton, Jeroo Billimoria, Erzsebet Szekeres, Vera Cordeiro, J.B. Schramm, Veronica Khosa, Javed Abidi, and James Grant.

Restless People
Today graduating students all over the world see a career in the NGO or non-profit sector as a possible life path. The growth of the citizen public service sector is happening on an unprecedented scale. They are offering long-term solutions and better systems, advocating something more practical than the traditionally wasteful practice of using foreign development aid and highly paid consultants who press their advice on corrupt governments.

Social entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs are merging in some areas, creating a fascinating hybrid of the socially aware business- combining profitability with social responsibility.

Today, demand for these social entrepreneurs is on the rise.

Ashoka and other organizations like it are springing up around the world, acting as new types of social Venture Capitalists, investing in the future of developing nations and creating a global fraternity of proactive solution-builders. .

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