Horizontal factors
In order to become a global leader in social innovation we
will need three more things in addition to design thinking
and creating experiences. Simon Anholt thinks they are the
key factors for the reputation of a country – the attitude
towards nature (a sign for sustainable development),
technology (hints at modernity) and education
(encourages personal growth). The most important thing
to keep in mind here is that these are not separate
industries or areas. These are horizontal factors that must
be present everywhere, with every community, company,
organization and institution committed to them.
Our attitude towards innovation is also crucial. Usually, the
innovative sectors in the economy are the ones
considered to have a “higher added value”, the main
criteria often being research, studies, patents and greater
financial returns. If we consider their role in social change
as their core value, all sectors and businesses can become
innovative with a high added value – from furniture
factories to hairdresser salons.
Education
Of the three horizontal factors I want to pay special
attention to education – not because it is more important
than the other two but because it has the most
problematic understanding about what is important and
what is not. In a society of social innovators everyone
should have the opportunity to share their experience and
expertise, and the ability to transform it into added value
for everyone else. This is the main role of education. It
does not begin with kindergarten and end with university.
It does not happen only in educational facilities or at
seminars. It is the process of sharing knowledge, skills and
experience and ensuring their long-term development.
We are still far away from this definition, not because we
are closing down schools or using outdated methodology,
but rather because of the way we approach education.
Usually, we only discuss the educational system, ignoring
the atmosphere of learning, the student’s experiences and
the lack of connection between the material and the real
world outside. Our future generations continue to study in
the rooms of the past. The people who take care of our
children – teachers, counselors, babysitters, nannies – have
a very low position in the social hierarchy.
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It is not about whether education “fits the needs and
demands of the modern world” or is “business-oriented” –
those are clichés that we often hear, rinse and repeat. We
don`t need the kind of education that prepares children to
become waiters, taxi drivers, part-time laborers,
employees in call centers or pizza delivery boys – jobs that
are completely in tune with what the market currently
offers. Of course we need engineers and biologists, but
this is beside the point.
Education should help children create new market
opportunities and achieve progress through social change
initiated by them. This is the best leadership course they
could have, but it can be made real only when schools and
universities decide to become platforms for ideas and
change and stop being so painfully attached to the past. It
is important to instill a culture of involvement in real life, of
experimentation and problem solving starting from
nursery and kindergarten. Those are things, which
organizations such as Junior Achievement Bulgaria and
Teach for Bulgaria are already working on.
Our goal shouldn`t be to prevent students from dropping
out of school. It should be far more ambitious - to
motivate their personal social responsibility and
contribution to the development of their school.
They learn about innovation every day – on the street, in
their neighborhood, in their community – and they are
doing very well there. These environments and
experiences, however, don`t provide a structured way of
learning because they`re not perceived as opportunities
for social change.
There is great potential in lifelong education, too. The
entrepreneur Boyan Benev has recently suggested
developing Bulgaria as a centre for professional education
with a platform offering short-term training courses for
executives from major international companies. We can
link this idea with our aim to become a number one
destination and teach these executives how to start and
develop social innovation projects, therefore bringing
greater added value for their companies and their
respective markets.
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Everyone has a role
The state
State institutions are often cited as the source of our
worst problems, while at the same time are loaded with
expectations to initiate dramatic changes.
I am not against state institutions or political parties per
se, as they are supposed to connect the people with those
who govern. The state continues to be the main factor
determining the fundamental rules, the foundation of our
relationships and the principles on which our societies
function – regardless of its performance in executing these
tasks. But I think it`s the last thing we can refer to as an
agent of change (pun intended).
Social innovation will originate outside of state institutions
and despite their direct responsibility towards social issues
such as the labor market, education and healthcare. When
innovative solutions prove their societal value, those
institutions could put them into laws and regulations and
launch supportive policies to stimulate their further
development. This is the only way to get things moving –
the opposite has been proven to lead to failure.
Given the current situation of our institutions, it is
counterproductive to put them at the beginning of the
transformation process – “this law has to be changed”,
“the Ministry should remove those serious obstacles” and so
on. Moreover, the country’s transparency, efficiency,
openness and innovation potential are not prerequisites
for social change the way we all want them to be. In our
case, the state institutions can only accept and adapt to
social changes, which have originated elsewhere and have
proven to be successful.
One example is the horrific condition of emergency
medical care. Instead of changing the system, we have to
accept that it will continue to function in the same way for
a long time; in the meantime, we should look for other
practical solutions – mobile medical teams, telemedicine,
training of staff in schools and companies, training children
for assistance in emergency situations. The members of the
OFFRoad Bulgaria forum found such novel solutions when
they were the first to help the victims of the flooded
village of Biser (and in many other cases that followed)
with their off-road vehicles, quick reaction, collective
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