PACT

Tuesday, 27 May 2008 | posted by Matt_BC

The Road to Davos leads to wonderful places. And we don't just mean Davos or Dubai. Not Sharm-El-Sheik, not even Cape Town (all of which are quite lovely). What it's brought us to is above all an idea. For the last couple of months, we've badgered our fellow wanderers from Guildford with emails about something called "PACT." Now that we finally begin our summer breaks, we thought we should give everyone more details about project and our plans for its future.

The idea for Partners in Activating Change (PACT) was born when Whitney and I got together in Washington a month after the Guildford Forum concluded. During our meeting, we agreed that we had to convert our shared experience into something substantial that would carry on the spirit and mission of the Road to Davos. How fortunate were we, after all, to be sent to London for a week for such an unforgettable experience! But for each of the 60 young activists who did go to Guilford, how many activists get denied access to these opportunities? Whitney and I felt that the British Council had given us a mandate-to spread what we had learned and become activists for other activists.

PACT thus emerged after many discussions about how we can best serve our friends in the Guildford network and other activists in our respective parts of the world. As we examined existing organizations and researched recent trends, we uncovered that the world of activism has in recent years turned to a new paradigm-so-called "social entrepreneurship." The core idea of social entrepreneurship is that successful activism involves developing new ideas that work, can be replicated in a sustainable manner, and promise direct positive and measurable impact (for more about these categories, see the World Economic Forum's page on social entrepreneurship). Muhammad Yunus, the originator of the concept of microcredit lending, is perhaps social entrepreneurship's most famous representative. We've discovered, moreover, organizations like Ashoka (http://www.ashoka.org/) that find and support brilliant individuals like Yunus around the world.

Much is written about how social entrepreneurship constitutes a revolution in thinking. A whole new industry has sprung up around idea that activism can be modeled after business practices-activists are now getting business degrees and major foundations are funding "social ventures" like Yunus' Grameen bank. But as we delved deeper and deeper into this phenomenon, we kept asking ourselves: how can we make a difference? What can we do to create something unique?

We found our answer in the Guildford 60. We realized we are already tapped into a network of young, ambitious, creative, and caring individuals, all the leaders of the future. Each of us, moreover, is tapped into social networks in our respective communities. What PACT aims to do is provide the services (advice from experts, legal help) and resources (funding, contacts) in order to help young people develop the skills that make social entrepreneurs so successful. Right now, the majority of social entrepreneurs are in their late 20s, 30s, 40s. Imagine the global impact if we could get YOUNG people thinking like social entrepreneurs before they started college or got professional degrees!

Of course, social entrepreneurship isn't the only powerful way to create social change; issues of identity, human rights, and empowerment, to name just a few, can't just be plugged into business models. But that doesn't mean we can't start asking ourselves: "how do I measure the effectiveness of my efforts?" or "Is there any way I can do this without ever asking anyone for more money?" Similarly, if we run projects that make others aware of social problems, have we given any thought to designing the solutions?

We're convinced that no one has really figured out how to promote this way of thinking successfully outside of narrow circles of highly educated individuals. In fact, we've heard one foundation complain that the grants are there, just not enough motivated young people to give it to! We therefore believe PACT can create a significant "ripple effect" by cultivating these skills in networks that we are already tapped into. We are currently assembling a team of consultants from all backgrounds to provide advice to young people (we call them "social innovators") eager to create change. With time, as our young social innovators launch successful projects, they can in turn become consultants and pass their skills on to others, and so on. We aim for nothing less than a powerful movement that can changes scores of lives across the world.

Of course, the endeavor presents many challenges. But with the backing of the British Council, which has been incredible in its support, and the energy of the Guildford network, we are confident we will succeed. We are aiming to launch a website and have PACT officially set up by the end of the summer. In the meantime, we want to hear your input, get you involved as regional network managers, consultants, advisors, and whatever other roles you wish to play. Finally, keep in mind that this project is designed for each of us in the Guildford network as well as for anyone and everyone we know. So, spread the word, and let's make a PACT we're proud of.