Ashoka is leading a profound transformation in society. Rather than leaving societal needs for the government or business sectors alone to address, social entrepreneurs are creating innovative solutions, delivering extraordinary results, and improving the lives of millions of people through their own drive and initiative. Blending idealism with practicality and determination, social entrepreneurs are taking new ideas for change and spreading them on a global scale.
In the past three decades, the global citizen sector, led by social entrepreneurs, has grown exponentially. It is this insight into the power of social entrepreneurs that led Bill Drayton to found Ashoka in 1980, and that continues to guide Ashoka today.
Beginning with the first Ashoka Fellows elected in India in 1981, Ashoka has grown to an association of 3,000 Fellows in nearly 70 countries on the world's five main continents. Since our start in the developing world, Ashoka has expanded in size as well as scope - moving into Western Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East as well as into new programs and initiatives to enrich the sector.
Ashoka Innovators for the Public from Ashoka Ireland on Vimeo.
We are constantly innovating new programs that advance our field, using our long history and broad geographic reach to lead the transformation of the citizen sector and create a world where everyone can be a changemaker.
Knowing History.....
- We are in the midst of a rare, structural change in society: citizens and citizen groups are beginning to operate with the same entrepreneurial and competitive skill that has driven business ahead over the last three centuries. People all around the world are no longer content to sit passively idle; they are beginning to see that change can happen and that they can make it happen.
- The result of this transformation will ultimately be a world where all individuals will be able to spot challenges, address them, and improve their lives. Every individual will be empowered to determine his or her own future.
...Serving History
- Through our Fellows and our programs, we are providing the framework from which the world can fully participate in the transformation of the citizen sector.
- We are in a unique position to communicate the significance and relevance of this historical transformation so individuals, organizations, governments, and businesses can understand how this transformation is relevant to them and how they might contribute.
- As the largest association of leading social entrepreneurs in the world, we know how to bring about change, and we understand what individuals need to make change happen. We have been engaged in learning from and serving this historical movement across the globe for three decades.
