Written by Luiz Ribas
Last week I attended the 3rd edition of ChangeNow Summit event, the largest social impact meeting. This was made possible thanks to Yunus and Youth, a network that connects young entrepreneurs from around the world.
In the last years, I’ve been able to participate in several networks and enjoy different opportunities, so I decided to share some perceptions.
- Networks have a purpose. They are CREATED by people who has a mission and FORMED by others who want to discover how to generate/expand social impact at the tip.
- Knowledge exchanges happen in networks. What you have to share can be an important learning experience for someone else. What someone else has to offer can be an important learning experience for you.
- Networks teach. For many people with a clear purpose, but not so much how to get there, it is participating in a network that receives the necessary training and mentoring to plan and take the first step. Or to grow. Or to change course.
- Networks have resources. It can connect people that are looking for resources (financial and/or human) with people looking to invest in ideas/social businesses/non-profit organizations that need resources to be born/consolidate/expand.
So it is possible to consider that the very existence of a network presupposes that at least two individuals are connected and, more than that, benefiting each other in an unselfish way.
The networks will end with the Old Power, as they promote joint development, with increasingly decentralized knowledge and the autonomy of agents. With the chain of relationships, the system gradually tends to change and the New Power enters the scene. To learn more about the Old and New Powers, access this interesting article by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms: Understanding “New Power”.
As I mentioned before, I participated in the ChangeNOW Summit, in the charming city of Paris, where for 3 intense days and with a full schedule, I had the opportunity to meet potential investors, have access to rich knowledge and discover countless ideas that promise, in the incoming decades, to revolutionize the way human beings consume, move and interact with the nature. All of this tends to be very important in several aspects: boosting the organization of which I am a co-founder, discovering new business models and developing myself (personally and professionally).
My participation happened thanks to Yunus and Youth (Y&Y), a network inspired by the story of Muhammed Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and creator of the concept of microcredit. It is estimated that this concept was responsible for taking tens of millions of people out of extreme poverty around the world. In this network, young entrepreneurs with business on purpose have 1-year of free access to Fellowship, where cutting-edge training is offered accompanied by the mentoring of a market professional. I was part of the first Y&Y class in 2015. There I met entrepreneurs from all over the world, many with ideas being created and others in more advanced stages. Thinking that “people all over the world are getting together to get their hands dirty and make their dreams come true!” was a great incentive!
I had the opportunity to connect, share and learn during the training courses and with the support of a mentor from Mexico. In 2015, I was invited by Y&Y to represent Brazil at a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) forum in Russia, which provided a unique experience.
There are numerous networks that you can get to know and participate in. I mention some of the ones I’ve had the most proximity to in the last few years, in all of them participation is free of charge:
- ASID Network of Institutions: focused on managers of institutions that attend people with disabilities. These managers have the opportunity to participate in training and enroll their institutions in different opportunities. Click here to access.
- Global Shapers: is a network linked to the World Economic Forum where young people get together voluntarily to create projects and impact their cities or to undertake jointly. Every year some participants are selected to participate in the World Economic Forum with a scholarship and represent the new generation in the main discussion tables. Recently the friend Laís Leão participated and reveals how the experience was in this text here (click here to access).
- United People Global: selects young entrepreneurs from around the world with ideas related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a week of training and 1 year of Fellowship. Click here to learn more.
So, I hope you’ve realized the potential of networks, thought about how they can be useful for you and your purpose. I hope you’re feeling compelled to join the next network you discover. Or, perhaps, create one, why not?
See you soon!