Academic Year 2017/2018 is already upon us. As much as we would like to walk down the memory lane, we look forward to the upcoming activities (as least for now). It is truly exciting times with the Social Innovation Wing and we are delighted to share our plans with you readers.
Before we share our activities, we would like to clarify certain uncertainties and misunderstanding.
First, what is Social Innovation?
Ans:
Social Innovation is a concept and a way of thinking. Officially, we adopted a working definition that is : A novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions and for which the solution adds value to society rather than limited to selected individuals (Phills, Deiglmeier & Miller, 2008). To summarize, social innovation is about finding solutions to social problems. The working definition is there to anchor our activities. However, we encourage you to find and identify your personal definition of social innovation with us.
Second, what is the difference between ACE and Social Innovation?
Ans:
Conceptually, CE and SI are integrated. Both work in tandem - SI requires CE to create powerful solutions that addresses the core social needs/problems; CE requires SI to add value to the relationships built and change the current situation with the communities.
Between ACE and SI Wing:
ACE focuses on organizing community engagement sessions that achieves the aim of CE - to build empathy among students through interact, learn and build relationships with other communities. They also do awareness events regarding their respective communities to highlight certain issues/concerns.
SI Wing focuses on creating solutions that address social issues. It could be about a certain community or it could be very broad - encompassing multiple communities. It is often assumed that solutions have to directly impact the communities that we are working with. However, in SI Wing, we believe that solutions can be both direct and indirect. Indirect solutions can advocate and inspire people to explore and step up to contribute to the cause.
We are interested in the thinking process - from identifying the core social issues to crafting the solutions and most importantly implementing the solutions and gathering feedback. This is actually more complicated than it seems! There are much insights that can be derived from the thinking process - hearing unique perspectives from your peers adds numerous angles to the topic, allowing you to see the bigger picture.
I hope this clarifies a few questions in your mind. If you have further queries, do email innovate.capt@gmail.com and we will get back to you soon.
On another note, we have exposure events! Yay.
For Migrant Experience, it is an experiential learning activity the committee has created. With role playing and carefully crafted game mechanics, you will be able to gain insights to the life of a migrant worker. This experience will be succinctly summarized by our reflection questions that will leave you thinking after the session has concluded.
We hope to see you there!
With Love,
Benson Leom
