Ashoka
ONE COMMUNITY - An Ashoka UK & Ireland Report
Ashoka envisions a world where everyone is powerful – where every individual, business and institution can embrace their agency, has the skills to solve problems, and contributes to change in positive ways. To that end, we have set out to mobilise our network – of leading social entrepreneurs, young changemakers, leaders in education, philanthropists and businesses – into a movement united by the goal of accelerating systems change.
In this report you will witness Fellows who have become our partners, young changemakers turned colleagues, individuals and businesses that have become leaders of change, and so much more – a truly fluid network that demonstrates the power of collaborative entrepreneurship in continuously evolving ways.
Andrew Bastawrous
Ashoka Fellow since 2017
One Community points to how individuals and groups of all shapes and sizes are responding to social issues and working synergistically with and alongside each other in fluid, collaborative, and increasingly integrated ways. In this ever-evolving diverse ecosystem of solutions and changemaking opportunities, there is room for everyone to find a deep sense of contribution and belonging – rooted in place, purpose, and community.
👤 Fellows – Building Solutions to Society’s Biggest Challenges
Ashoka Fellows are system-changing social entrepreneurs working to solve deep-rooted social problems. We search the world for these social entrepreneurs through an intensive, human-centred process, selecting them into our global, trust-based Fellowship of peers.
Currently, Ashoka UK and Ireland supports 90+ Fellows, tackling big cross-cutting issues including social mobility, climate change, tax justice, social inclusion, mental health and community cohesion, and more thematic areas.
💼 Individuals and Businesses – Unleashing their Changemaking Potential
Since 2004, Ashoka has invited individuals to embark on a transformative journey through the Ashoka Support Network (ASN) - a global network of committed leaders who share, support, and advocate for Ashoka’s values and vision. With 400 members worldwide, and 30 members in the UK and Ireland, we have built a powerful network that amplifies our work
Our pro-bono partners are companies and organisations that are as committed as we are in creating a just and resilient world. This valued group of partners contribute their organisation's unique skills and time to achieve global social impact.
🤝 Partners – Creating a Stronger Ecosystem for Social Change
When businesses and governments engage and collaborate with systemic social entrepreneurs and changemakers, a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable future for all can be realised.
We partner with forward-thinking corporations, foundations, thought leaders, citizen sector organisations, media and other influencers who share our vision to accelerate changemaking, both within and outside of our organisations. Our partners act as co-leaders in designing innovative programmes and strategies that strive to shift societal mindsets and reshape how we learn, work and live together to catalyse changemaking for the good of all.
🔥 Young Leaders – Taking Charge of their Future
Over the last 20 years, Ashoka has supported over half a million young changemakers to participate in or launch social change initiatives in their communities.
With a unique bird’s eye view, Ashoka has the ability to observe patterns in its global Fellowship. One of these observations is that the majority of Ashoka Fellows started their changemaking journey in their teens. It is this empirical data that helped us to realise the importance of youth activation.
Today, one of Ashoka’s main objectives is to help more young people identify as changemakers and to bring about an environment that fosters changemaking skills and support from an early age.
🏫 Changemaker Schools – Transforming the Learning Ecosystem
A growing number of institutions worldwide are responding to the demand from young people for the skills that will help them contribute to a better future.
Over the years, Ashoka has identified and brought together 300 of the world’s most innovative schools and recognised them as Changemaker Schools. In the UK & Ireland, this loose network of 30 Changemaker Schools are proving that re-imagining education is possible in every context: primary, secondary, free, religious, and state-schools.
🌎 A Global Community – Seeding and Supporting the Ecosystem of Changemaking
Recent global crises have highlighted our systems’ fragilities and failures – from healthcare to education, to our political and economic systems – and the interconnectedness of the problems we face. To truly create change, there can no longer be competition – only allies.
Ashoka community members – Fellows, young changemakers, funders – have turned to each other and the wider ecosystem to learn, scale impact and co-create initiatives to activate more changemakers. Recent years have seen an unprecedented mobilisation of people and effort globally, to address the world’s most pressing problems and lay a strong foundation for systemic change.
Bob Bharij
Ashoka Fellow since 2020