On 28 February, we gathered for the first time in Athens, Greece, to share the preliminary results of the Social Innovation Academy with a variety of participants interested in social innovation. Found.ation provided an interactive workshop, which helped to create an engaging environment with the participants.

Dimitris Raftopoulos, having first set the scene with a short presentation on Found.ation, explained the social innovation concept and the momentum it is gaining worldwide. He went on to explain the Social Innovation Academy project and the skillset needed to become a successful social innovator.

The floor was then given to Fiori Zafeiropoulou, a very successful Greek social entrepreneur, who demonstrated, with concrete information, how to become a social entrepreneur. Using a step-by-step approach, richly illustrated by examples of her work, Fiori skillfully linked theory and practice to show how the ‘burning flame’ within can become the launchpad for something big.

Following these sessions, the presenters split the attendees into groups and elicited their participation, creativity and inspirational conversations to create an engaging environment. The presenters followed the proaction café methodology adapted by Elena Rodríguez Blanco, a former Professor of Esade’s and currently regarded across the world as a prominent social innovator. The methodology provided hands-on job experience that helped the participants connect all of the theoretical steps of social innovation to form a set of concrete guidelines on how to excel and become social innovators themselves.

The final session introduced the beta version of the Academy, thus officially launching the testing phase of the Social Innovation Academy project in Greece! The event was hailed a success, which was also evident in the comments received. The participants enjoyed the event, noting the following: ‘It was inspiring & very informative on social innovation’, ‘I learnt a lot and enjoyed having to think outside of the box!’, ‘It was information intensive and a good way to meet other people in the industry!’.

Learn more at Social Innovation Academy 

If you are interested in the topic of social innovation, learn more at the Social Innovation Academy, the first fully online management training programme focusing exclusively on social innovation.

Why Social Innovation Academy? Social innovation is increasingly being perceived as the answer to the rising number of European societal challenges. While the European authorities, leading academics, policy experts, business people and activists all agree that social innovation is the key to a better future for Europe and the world, it is extremely difficult for professionals to obtain high-quality training on what social innovation actually offers and, more importantly, how to implement it in practice.

The Social Innovation Academy is aiming to change this situation in Europe and beyond. If you are interested in keeping up with the project, you can subscribe to our newsletter, become one of our friends or follow us on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook). We welcome all requests for collaboration here.

Upcoming Social Innovation Academy events

After the inspiring events in Luxembourg, Ljubljana, Warsaw and Athens, our next stop is Badajoz!

Interested in joining us? Our event in Badajoz is on 26 March! Click here to register!