On route to your destination

Now that you have packed your bags, we would like to forward some of our learning from the land of SI to you. They are excerpts from our own experiences and the conclusions we drew from them.

It is important to understand the context from which the need emerges before you address it.

As human beings we stand on a platform composed of opinions and perceived truths. We bring this with us wherever we go. When working with SI in a context outside of our own it can be fruitful to reflect on our own platform and what we bring into the new context – our worldview, assumptions, prejudices, and frames of reference.

We cannot impose our worldview onto others. We can, however, indulge in theirs. This boils down to one thing: Engage in dialogue with the experts – the locals – and explore their perspectives. The common mistake made when meeting another perspective than your own, is to engage in a discussion to attempt to persuade the counterpart that your viewpoint is more valid. This approach only leaves room for one winner. The object of a dialogue however, is to increase the understanding on both sides. This way everyone can learn from the outcome, and knowledge and understanding can be co-developed and lifted to another level.

“People become aware of their culture when they stand at its boundaries; when they encounter other cultures, or when they become aware of other ways of doing things” Anthony P. Cohen

There are different social needs in different places and there are different demands in different places; hence, different innovative actions.

Social innovation is context related and it is important to understand the context from which the need emerges before you address it. In doing this some of the clouds we encourage you to grab are…