Changemaker Day 2024: Highlights

Download all the pictures from Changemaker Day here.

Sustainable plants and confetti? Unconventional doctorates? An environmental measurement Safari Tour? These are just a few of the wild(ly innovative) concepts and ideas participants of our Changemaker Day event had the chance to hear about last week, June 27th. Missed the event, but still want the details? No worries - for this, we have prepared this handy recap, which will quickly take you through the main highlights of our event and fill you in on some of the insight that our wonderful guest speakers and workshop organizers shared on Changemaker Day.

Interviews

Interview with Sinead Hewson of Unconventional Doctorates by Marjan de Jong

Sinead Hewson is, first of all, an unconventional doctorate - with an education in nursing, a PhD in the area of Crisis Management, and professional experience in communication, neither is she your ordinary doctorate, nor does she come from a background where this sort of academic trajectory is commonplace. This makes her mission as founder of Unconventional Doctorates a highly personal one: to support those from underrepresented groups/ those without an academic background to pursue and finish their doctoral studies. Sinead believes that the seeds of innovation lay within these underrepresented and under supported groups, and thus that it is crucial to help nurture them to maturity. To help these unconventionals on their academic journey, Sinead has also gathered relevant stories, advice and insights on the topic in the form of a book, The Mature Student’s Guide to Completing a Doctorate.

Interview with Peter Knorringa - New Economy Campus by Gerrit Jan van 't Veen

Peter Knorriga is a Professor of Private Sector & Development at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), part of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is the academic director of the Centre for Frugal Innovation in Africa. A lot of his research is centered around frugal innovation, specifically in the Global South, and on the role of businesses in development - which he believes to be neither heroes nor “the enemy”, but potential catalysts for boosting inclusivity and sustainability, if looked at in a thoughtful and nuanced manner. Peter Knorriga notes that there is an increase in “voluntary frugality” - people choosing a frugal lifestyle not out of lack of resources, but out of personal conviction and own free will. A new project, with the working title of New Economy Campus, is underway; it will be a bottom-up, grassroots initiative, focused on the idea of voluntary frugality.

Interview with Annelies Goedbloed - Urban Sensing Lab by Daniël Steginga

The Urban Sensing Lab is a program aiming to empower citizens through technology, giving them the ability to directly do research and collaborate on finding solutions to the city’s challenges. The Urban Sensing Lab are the minds behind The Urban Sensing App, which is a grassroots app through which citizens can directly measure the quality of the city’s environment. The biggest challenge they face, in their view, is finding the right people to join the cause; if you want to take the matter of the city’s environmental well-being into your own hands, you might be interested in joining their Summer Safari Tour, which will allow you to take measurements and do research on location.

Workshops

Workshop 1: Sustainable Confetti by Ida van Esch - Candy Converters

A party for you is not always a party for the environment - and this is something that Candy Converters wants to change. Candy Converters aims to ensure that confetti all around the world stays plastic-free and waste-free, by making their own fully biodegradable confetti out of rescued Dutch wafer paper. This process was fully demonstrated during the workshop using a paper shredding machine, with which participants got the chance to make their own sustainable confetti - and to shred their deepest, darkest secrets along the way, turning them into a handy party decoration talk about circularity!

Workshop 2: Plants as service by Rolien Wiersinga - Circular Green

Plants have the power to live up any environment - especially when they are sustainably sourced! Circular Green relies on an entirely circular process to provide you with fully reused and reusable plants, which are, of course, also maintained with reused resources from pots to any other supplies. Dead leaves and plants also play a part in the process: they become bokashi (fermented organic matter), which improves the quality of the already-existing soil. Plastic packaging is, of course, also brought to a plastic collection point. Workshop participants got to carry out part of the process themselves.

Workshop 3: Sustainable green banana flour by Duygu Yılmaz Köksal - Saledo

Did you know that the banana harvesting process yields 60% biowaste after it’s finished? If not, Saledo would like to make you aware of that. Saledo is an Istanbul-based women’s initiative that focuses on using unwanted bananas in their rawest form - the green banana - to create a gluten-free, fully functional alternative to flour: green banana flour. They have also expanded to making other products, also using sustainable resources and means of production, as for example banana chips or banana-peel plates (don’t worry - they look just like your average cardboard plate). Who knew bananas had so much potential? Saledo takes not only innovation, but also social responsibility very seriously, hence their membership in organizations such as UNWomen or TUGIP (Turkish Food Innovation Platform).

WorldStartup Initiatives

The Basecamp Program by Svitlana Khrystenko

The Basecamp program is a 12-month incubator program for early-stage impact-driven startups. It features access to the Changemaker platform (with 4 different learning areas), individual mentorship, events, and support from an entrepreneurial community. It is designed for startups that aim not only to grow market-wise, but also to solve a significant societal problem through their action. If this sounds like something you/your team want to do, and if you are ready to learn, receive feedback, and are open to online collaboration - Basecamp might just about be the place for you!

Startups can either join through the year, or join one of these three thematic cohorts - Healthcare, GovTech and Social, Circular & Sustainable Makers. As for a success story, Basecamp’s very first start-up is a great example: Batazia that uses an innovative AI tool helping break language barriers across the African continent. To join basecamp, sign up here.

Women in Ventures by Alice Pavin

Women in Ventures is an initiative aiming to facilitate the growth of women impact entrepreneurs, by both increasing access to capital and resources and addressing the cultural issue that lies at the core of the challenges faced by women in the business environment. Women in Ventures wants to help both men and women understand that gender equality is not just a “nice extra” to have, but a crucial component of innovation, economic growth, and impactful entrepreneurship. Together with The Angel Initiative, they will be hosting an event on the 8th of November, where they will bring together a diverse group in the Dutch ecosystem for a series of thought-provoking workshops, that will end with the co-creation of a gender equality manifesto. Their next upcoming activity is a pre-incubator, where 10 women entrepreneurs can join for 100 days of 100% positive growth. For more updates on the initiative, follow the Women In Ventures LinkedIn page.

Closing Moments

After the audience shared the highlights of the workshops Gerrit Jan van ' t Veen and Armand Lipperts from Eyevestor shortly discussed the future of WorldStartup. They emphasised the importance of our collective efforts in driving positive change and introduced the Cooperative.

After the closing talk, participants had the chance to network and connect with fellow changemakers sharing ideas and experiences over delicious mocktails and snacks.

Changemaker Day is a key part of our mission to co-create remarkable, progressive experiences with and for changemakers to accelerate positive growth. Thank you to everyone who joined us, especially the speakers and visitors, for making it an incredible event! We look forward to seeing you all at the next Changemaker Day in November.

Download all the pictures from Changemaker Day here.