Ashoka's Priorities
Ashoka currently focuses on three strategic priorities to support a world where everyone can make a change to their society and its culture:
Social Entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurs champion innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social, cultural, and environmental challenges. They model changemaking behavior, and catalyze organizations and movements where everyone can be changemaker.
Empathy & Young Changemaking
In order to thrive, young people need to know how to make an impact in today’s rapidly evolving world. Gaining the skills for changemaking, including empathy, must become the new norm for growing up.
Learn more
Organizing for a Changemaker World
Succeeding in a world where everyone drives change requires a new way of organizing: where we break through walls between sectors and within organizations to work together in fluid, open, and communicative teams.
Our Team
Ashoka's leadership today is a group of change leaders with a track record of positively impacting society and empowering others to be changemakers. The team is made up of 300+ Ashoka staff worldwide, that supports the vision of an "Everyone a Changemaker" world.
Discover below the Belgian team.
Ashoka Belgium Staff
Perrine de le Court
Director Belgium
Perrine de le Court joined Ashoka Belgium as Co-Director in September 2018. Together with Elena Arène she will lead the Belgian Ashoka office by sharing responsibilities among Ashoka Belgium's different programmes. Perrine has professional experience, both in the private sector (5 years at Regus, her last job) and with International Organisations like UNICEF & IMBEWU, where she has worked for over 10 years in Europe and in Africa. After an enriching experience at Regus, she was missing the passion and sense of purpose that working in the social sector gave her. She particularly enjoys coaching, talent development and creating a team spirit as well as building strong partnerships across sectors.
Ashling Hoare
Finance and operations Manager Belgium and Switzerland
Ashling Hoare
Finance and operations Manager Belgium and Switzerland
Ashling joined Ashoka in August 2019. She is the Finance and Operations manager for the offices of Belgium and Switzerland. Ashling has a Master in Finances from the ICHEC Brussels Management School.
Before Ashoka, Ashling used to work as a relationship manager in the finance sector for BNP Paribas Asset Management. In parallel of her professional life, Ashling has always been active in volunteer work and is currently a member of Natagora – an association active in nature preservation. Although born and raised in Brussels, Ashling is of French and Irish nationality.
Yannick Fischer
Venture and Partnership manager
After completing his M.Sc. in Global Governance and Ethics, Yannick has been continuously working in the field of social innovation and entrepreneurship. First for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German agency for international development and cooperation, supporting the secretariat of an intrapreneurship accelerator and now at Ashoka as the Venture and Partnerships manager. At Ashoka, Yannick has managed an acceleration programme for social entrepreneurs on the topic of integration and inclusion and is currently managing a new edition on climate change and circularity. Additionally, he is responsible for the search and selection of new Ashoka Fellows in Belgium and supports on a European level other Ashoka staff members in the due diligence process.
Romain Gustot
Community & Fundraising Manager
Since September 2022, Romain is animating the Ashoka Belgian community, to make sure it’s alive and kicking! He also manages fundraising for the country’s office. In parallel, he continues to develop his side-project, ‘What Now’, an online media focusing on solutions to social and environmental challenges and putting the light on changemakers across Europe. Previously, he worked for 8 years on international cooperation and migration governance with NGOs, European institutions and international organisations. Romain has a Bachelor in Journalism & Communication from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a Master in International Relations & Diplomacy from the College of Europe. He is Belgian and speaks French, English and is working on improving his Dutch !
Laura Batalla
Head of the Hello Europe Policy Unit
Laura leads Ashoka’s Changemaker Europe initiative which aims to shape a new vision of democracy and civic participation where every person can actively contribute to positive social change. She is also Hello Europe’s Migration Policy Representative in Brussels, where she works to bridge the gap between social innovation and policy-making in the field of migration and integration.