Community Newsletter November 2019

Why a Wellbeing Retreat?

Wellbeing helps us thrive and succeed in systems change by living and modelling the best version of ourselves - open, collaborative, and resilient change leaders. Together we will cultivate mindfulness and empathy; not only towards those who serve but also towards ourselves.
During the 2-day Wellbeing retreat (Jan 30 - Feb 01 in Bucharest), we will explore tools, practices, and peer support to kick-off 2020 with intentions of self-awareness and wellbeing at the heart of our system change ambitions. Come join us!

Find out more and apply until the 15th of December!

Wellbeing: Meet the trainers! 

We are proud to introduce two of our co-facilitators to you: 

Luzette Jaimes: An integral coach, a whole systems scientist and  facilitator of transformational learning journeys. Being the founder of Alive & Thriving LLC and the Learning & Development initiative at Ashoka, Luzette has deep experience in creating spaces for transformation and wellbeing.
Michael Sani: We have also invited Mike as a co-facilitator to
share his insights on incorporating wellbeing practices into system change work, since he was participating in the Wellbeing Project.
He has large experience of promoting wellbeing tools and practices within his communities.

Wellbeing meets System Change

The Wellbeing Retreat in Bucharest will also serve as the optional in-person launch event for participants of the System Change online course. Check it out and combine your learning experience to unlock System Change even more holistically: A powerful kick-off for Change Leaders. Find out more in the EVENT CALENDAR of the Ashoka Europe Fellowship Program.

... and apply for the System Change module AND the Wellbeing retreat!

Why a SOCIAL FINANCE Workshop?

Many social entrepreneurs need social investment to grow their businesses, but often don’t know how to raise it. Likewise, investors are looking for the most impactful (social) investment opportunities. Please join our 2-day Social Finance Workshop from Jan 31 – Feb 01 in Bucharest, where our experts will share tips on how to raise social finance. This course is led by social finance expert and investor Mark Cheng, who will share best practices from across Ashoka.  Join and connect to other peers and investors!
Find out more and apply (deadline: 15th of December)!

Check it out: The Social Investment Toolkit

You've probably heard that before: You don’t need to know everything, but you need to know where to look for the information that you need. When it comes to Social Finance, this is the place to go; The Social Investment Toolkit. It offers you hands-on knowledge and guides you step by step. You’ll learn how to define your social mission and to create a compelling investor pitch.
Find out more about the Social Investment Toolkit here!

Meet the facilitators: Clémentine van Hamme & Mark Cheng

Most workshops are as good as their trainers, right? We are happy to introduce you to 2 of the best (co-)leaders in this area: 

Clémentine van Hamme: Our dear team member Clémentine, an expert in Social Finance, is offering her Finance knowledge & experience, combined with her insights of leading the fellowship efforts at Ashoka Belgium. 

Mark Cheng: With Mark Cheng, we can introduce you one of the leading experts for Social Finance worldwide. In fact, he has helped to raise over $250mn for social causes. Being one of our global leaders at Ashoka, we are proud that Mark will share his experience and knowledge with you and our community. 

Elders Retreat | Thank you & the journey continues: The Elders Council meets again!

Embracing eldership and transition has been our Wellbeing focus this past September. Together with the Europe Fellowship & the Next Now Team, 10 Ashoka Fellows got together at the Elders retreat in the South of France. The retreat culminated in them founding the Elders Council. It aims to represent and support Fellows around the world, who are in transition, with their lifelong experience. We are excited to work with the Elders Council - to support the next generation of changemakers. And, we are happy to announce that the Council will meet again at ECMS (see more below).

We sincerely thank our partner Steelcase for their generous support of the retreat and for hosting us at the stunning the camp!

Click here for an inspiring summary of the Elders retreat!

Meet us at the ECMS!

From the 25th - 27th of November, a huge part of the European Changemaker community will meet at the Changemaker Summit in Barcelona. The Ashoka Europe Fellowship Team will be present there, too. Come find us and get to know more about the program and meet the team!

If Wellbeing caught your interest, please visit the Wellbeing Workshops on the 26th:

• "Transition and Eldership" (1:15-2:30pm)
• "Wellbeing for Change Leaders" (2:45-4pm)

Find out more in our CALENDAR of offers!