International Youth Social Innovator Symposium 2021

The importance of Empathy in Social Innovation.

The Social Innovation Lab at the Lang Center is delighted to host the International Youth Social Innovator Symposium 2021!  Working in partnership with Ashoka Japan, we are excited to showcase through conversation outstanding examples of youth Social Innovators working in the US, Japan, and around the world.   Over the week of March 28th 2021, 12 international Social Innovators will discuss their projects' details, exchange ideas, insights, and shared learning.  Delivered through a hybrid model of videos and live conversations, we will hear from our guests and students on how they are working towards creating positive social change in very challenging environments.  

The theme for IYSIS 2021 is empathy and the critical role that empathy plays in the Social Innovator's work.  We are thrilled to announce the support of two outstanding and internationally acclaimed Ashoka Fellow Social Entrepreneurs, Mary Gordon, Founder and CEO of Roots of Empathy, and Bart Weetjens, Founder of APOPO and The Wellbeing Project.  Both Mary and Bart have generously agreed to provide Keynote addresses, and their videos, "Empathy & Social Innovation" Mary Gordon, and "Self Compassion: Empathy to the Self" Bart Weetjens, will be made available at the beginning (04/28) and closing of the Symposium (04/02) respectively.  

IYSIS 2021 builds upon a previous collaboration between the Social Innovation Lab and Ashoka Japan, the "Youth Changemaker  Exchange 2019".