Social Innovation Camp

I've just spent a thoroughly inspiring Sunday afternoon at the final session of the second Social Innovation Camp. SIC is the simple, powerful idea of using social technology tools to drive social change. A handful of final ideas get selected by judges from all submissions and then transformed from concepts to prototypes in an intensive 48 hours of creation, collaboration and mentoring. Judges then pick one winner plus runner up from the final presentations at the end of the weekend.

I was blown away by the quality of collaboration and thinking and the sheer amount of development that had gone on in such a short space of time.

There were some great ideas, all driven by real insights into social needs and a passion for meeting them in innovative, sometimes quite disruptive ways.

"Carbon Co-Op", was all about the environment (similar concept to One Block Off The Grid I posted about the other day).  Others contained an element of sustainability e.g. "Going Postal", a site for opting out of junk mail and seeing the CO2 you save, or "Own Grown", an online marketplace for growers/sellers and buyers of stuff grown in gardens or allotments.

Some just tackled social rather than climate change. The winner, Good Gym, was a personal favourite. Joggers and cyclists are paired up with elderly folk who live on their exercise routes and would appreciate a visit every now and then. It's easy for joggers/cyclists to commit to a cup of tea once a week because it fits in with what they're already doing and they get to feel even better about doing it. And they get back some wisdom and stories into the bargain.

"The idea is to take the energy people use running around in gyms not getting anywhere and put it to some sort of use, so if they are running past the house of someone who lives alone and has little contact with the outside world, this would provide a way of matching them up. It's a simple exchange, so the runner could bring a newspaper or fruit (that older people often don't eat enough of) and the older person could give them advice or something".

This idea tackles a few needs in one go: (1) a breakdown of societal relationships between the young and the old; (2) not enough state resources to care for lonely and issolated elderly people (3) young people's need to get or keep fit and desire to do good but only if they don't have to go too far out of their way.

Brilliant.

ps. I wondered if the 'Own Grown' and 'Good Gym' teams might combine so locally grown fruit and veg could be delivered by volunteer runners to those in need? Hmmm....

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