GSIF 2012: Where Ideas Meet Reality

Want to make a change? Together, we can!

At the Global Shaper’s Singapore Hub, we are convinced that change does not begin with presidents, chief executive or the UN. Rather, the responsibility for creating a better world for us and our children rests with each of us. This is why we are so excited about the Global Social Innovators Forum and Festival (GSIF) 2012.

Under the theme “Inclusive Innovation: Walk the Talk”, GSIF 2012 is a brand new form of community engagement that taps into innovative solutions with the community, within the community and for the community. It is also a multiplier platform for cross-sector collaboration for the greater good.

GSIForum and GSIFestival are complementary arms of GSIF 2012, bound by the online platform i-GSIF. While GSIForum brings together top world leaders across different sectors to collaborate on new paradigms and solutions, GSIFestival is a national celebration of social innovation that focuses on a bottom-up approach to generate effective, sustainable and inclusive innovations.

How can innovation be inclusive? GSIF 2012 intends to explore this question through a variety of solution-based avenues. All over Singapore, each festival centre will explore inclusive innovation through paths such as inclusive enterprises, inclusive arts, inclusive technology and so on. For instance, motion picture therapy features an innovative therapy approach that uses movies as a counselling tool.

Critically, we believe in real, measurable and sustainable change. GSIF 2012, therefore, also aims to do two things: strengthen the social enterprise industry in Singapore by generating new and innovative social enterprises while enhancing existing ones, and develop a framework for the assessment of impact generated by social enterprises.

Of course, we can’t do this alone. We strongly believe in the power of partnership, particularly cross-sector partnerships between the public, private and people sectors. The new and increasingly complex challenges that we face today require collaboration in response, and we are always open to engaging new partners.

If you are interested in engaging the community in a new and innovative social dialogue that generates real and measurable solutions for a more inclusive society, not just in Singapore but also globally, we would love to hear from you.

Join the movement at https://www.facebook.com/socialinnovatorsforum.

Sinni Lim is a Global Shaper in the Singapore Hub. She has a BA from Oxford University and an MA from Stanford University.