Onions Talk: Change making through social engagement

Zsolt Bugarszki is the founder of SEIP Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program and associate professor at Talliin University.

Key points from this episode:

• Social hackathons: implementing speedy tech processes on social problems
• Bridging social solutions and business
• Moving beyong dependence on governments
• Convincing the Estonian Ministry to include social entreprenuership in their national strategy
• How to join the Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program
• The power of ecosystems in speeding and scaling change
• Strengthening support for changemakers

This conversation with Nicky Wilkinson, executive director of Firetree Philanthropy is a peek into the funders’ world, from Firetree Philanthropy’s perspective and approach as well as a glimpse into what other funders look at and some prevalent conversations in the Philanthropy circle. Here are some key points from this episode.  The starting of Firetree Philantropy and their link to Southeast Asia.  Prioritizing on trust centred type practice Where the money comes from affects how the funder behaves What is the role we can play as a private trust? Supporting experimental funding work, networks and social infrastructure Shifting power dynamics in a human way Minimizing reporting requirements, being interested in what organisations are learning Funding local led work, no proposals asked: Things that Firetree Philantropy looks at Funders to be aware of the role they can play in the ecosystem to create change How funders fund is as important as what they fund Insights about how Firetree's non-profit partners reacted to the pandemic   The vital importance of legitimizing rest and restoration; no shame, no guilt  Check them out: https://www.firetree.org contactus@firetree.org

What’s the value of arts and cultural education? How do you build a social enterprise supporting creatives? Let Jeff tell you all about it. Jeff M. Poulin is an American educator, non-profit administrator, and social entrepreneur whose work takes a justice approach towards uncovering transformative youth-led local solutions for complex global challenges. He’s a performer, teaching artist, and activist turned social entrepreneur who is creating social impact through supporting young creatives and their adult allies around the globe.  Key points in this episode: Youth activism and social impact in the United States Understanding how young artists can be their most effective advocates for the issues they care about Unlearning, bridging, navigating, and holding tensions within current structures that govern policy, culture, and education Building the path with humility and generosity Creative Generation’s social entrepreneurship journey Social transformation through challenging hierarchies and norms that create oppressions and adding their creative element Creative capabilities to have to positively impact the world Listen and not be afraid to act Check them out: https://creative-generation.org Instagram: @campaign4genc

"I just want to create a company where really badass people get to do the work that they love and that they are so good at and get paid really well and do it from anywhere in the world.” -Beth Salyers Beth Salyers is a public school teacher turned entrepreneur who leads Custom Learning Atelier, which utilises the art and science of learning to accompany you through the discomfort of growth and increase your positive impact on the world. Key points in this episode: From public school teacher and systemic inequalities to entrepreneur Teaching the great social conditioner - change what that normal feels like through intersection of art and science. Change happens in margin - staying at growth edge long enough Showing up in places with the kind of people you want to work with - showing up where its safe to ask What is my zone of sustainable service and staying there while respecting what it is for others - valuing multiple ways of knowing the self in the world Staying in discomfort is the work Check them out: https://www.customlearningatelier.com

Jolene Lum is the co-founder of Urban Tiller, a next generation farm-to-table agribusiness, founded in 2020. They work closely with local farmers in Singapore to deliver fresh produce to customers within hours of harvesting. They have expanded operations to Hyderabad in India in December 2020, and hope to bring value-added services and support to smallholder and new-age farmers in the region as they grow.

Key points of this episode:

Building a local produce ecosystem

Thinking about food in land scarce Singapore.

A different way of looking at jobs and careers.

Questioning the true cost of growing food during Covid-19.

Who cares and whose jobs would pay them enough to care?

Passion as a mix of care, emotional connection and curiosity

Support community keeping the entrepreneurship journey going

Challenges of being a young founder

How do you align what people care about as an entrepreneur?

Laura is a social impact strategist and designer, co-founder of The Spaceship (education program that teaches change makers how to solve global challenges with business) and Demopunk (connecting carbon sequestering projects with real estate). She previously led Fashion Revolution in Singapore and Malaysia which opens up many conversations around the enivronmental impact of fashion.

Key points in this episode:

Intersecting and creating new opportunities through cross sector collaborations

Systems approach to creating change

Good and bad in every impact - questioning your work

Understanding value

Intersecting arts and social innovation

Tips to funding application

How to pitch your process

Advice for young change makers

https://www.laurafrancois.com

https://www.thespaceship.org

What happens when a millennial talks to a boomer about change making in the midst of a climate crisis? Jack Sim is a successful entrepreneur and the founder of World Toilet Organisation. He became a milionaire at age 29, then retired from the business world at age 40 and dedicated his life to social impact. WTO supported in implementing 110 million toilets in India and built 13 blocks of Rainbow Schools Toilets in rural China. Its founding day 19 November in 2001 has become World Toilet Day, now celebrated worldwide each year towards improving the state of toilets and sanitation globally. In 2013, all 193 countries of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted 19 November as the official UN World Toilet Day. Jack has received awards from all over the world, including her majesty queen elizabeth commonwealth points of light award, luxembourg peace prize for activist, reader’s digest asian of the year and hero of the environment by time magazine. Key takeaways of episode: Greenwashing and consumption Tackling the climate crisis through frugality Redefining success Negotiation tips around different agendas Guerrilla marketing Royal Flush: Humour and media P.S. If anyone’s giving drumming lessons in Singapore, get in touch with Jack! https://www.worldtoilet.org  

“I never felt ever that there was a path just right for me... We need more people that create paths because the current paths are not good enough.”

This episode is about not being afraid to cross disciplines and boundaries. There are many opportunities that exist when we create a path across domains.

Key points in this episode:

• Creative embodied process of co-creating healing
• Trauma and the need to reconnect with the body in order to heal
• Paving new paths and connecting with supporters of your mission
• Believing in yourself when fore-fronting a new vision to bring a value into this world that has yet to be recognised
• Trauma survivors are immensely powerful and resourceful. Protecting people from violence and abuse and supporting people to survive and live past trauma is everyone’s responsibility.
• Collective trauma, social political events and individual narratives

Laura Fischer is an interdisciplinary artist, activist and researcher focused on trauma and healing. Her work weaves creative approaches with scientific methods (and vice-versa) and focuses on trauma - often with an activist agenda. She has spoken at conferences and events in the UK and Europe, including several keynotes and TEDx. Laura is an honorary research associate at King's College London and gives regular lectures at Central Saint Martins and University College of London.

Primavera Gomes Caldas, artist and project manager specialising in critical thinking and connecting people, was born in Canada, grew up in French Guiana and moved to France for further education. She speaks of her experiences being French but not French, being not white enough to be white, not black enough to be black. The very first of #pft Prima-Fié-talk, this is a raw and uncensored episode on France, colonisation, racism, the complexities of identity and history at interplay and its consequences in oppression and violence. Listen to the end for her favourite onion dish! Connect with Prima on Linkedin: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/primavera-gomes-caldas-01027016b  Website: https://gomescaldasprimavera.com/

This conversation is about art, systems change, care and the questions we ask ourselves and the world. How can artists adapt to Covid-19? How do you sustain yourself as an artist? What does it mean to be an artist? How are my skills as an artist relevant right now? What better questions does the world need? How do we support each other? Andrew Simonet is a writer, choreographer, artist in Philadelphia. He is the author of “Making your life as an artist” and “ Wilder”, founded Artists U which supports artists leading sustainable lives and was a founding Co-Director of Philadelphia's Headlong Dance Theater from 1993-2013.  Check out his works at: https://www.andrewsimonet.com  Artists U http://www.artistsu.org/who-we-are/#.YDzwky2w2u4  Making Your Life as an Artist: http://www.artistsu.org/making#.YE9YzC3Mzrk  Wilder: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374309251  and his new novel coming out June 1: A Night Twice as Long: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374309329?aff=macmillan For The Reconnection Playground workshops, go to https://feeyehneo.wordpress.com/

Madeleine McGirk is the managing director of ITAC (International Teaching Artists Collaborative). This episode delves into the value and impact of socially engaged arts in bringing about bottom up social change. We discussed the possibilities of socially engaged processes going into different spaces like businesses and tech to provide new and creative perspectives while diversifying income streams for artists to be able to sustain their practice.    Learn more about ITAC: https://www.itac-collaborative.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, do consider supporting: https://www.patreon.com/fieneo

Change cannot happen without discomfort. Change needs friction. Do you play the game and climb the ladder to be able to create change? Does the narrative of power and control serve us? What drives your need for change? What are the needs of your people? This conversation weaves in and out of folk tales, trees, honest discussions around the processes of change making and more… Stay till the end to hear The Tale of Twenty Twenty!  Orode Faka is a community artist, theatre maker and writer. Director of R.O.C.K.S! International Arts, an interdisciplinary artist collective committed to using their crafts to spark new ideas and innovate proactive and sustainable actions in the practice of arts for social change.  Check her out here: https://www.sixwayfinder.com/orode-faka  This episode is a part of a mini series on wayfinding as I talk to artists I’m working with on the artist-composer residency with Social Innovation Exchange.

What is your story? What are the chapters you want to write? Welcome back to our mini series on wayfinding. This episode is with Josiane Smith, who is a poet and connector, and is currently the Global Programmes Lead at the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX). This episode is about finding hope through healing and features some beautiful poetry! https://socialinnovationexchange.org/our-work/programmes/convening/wayfinder

20 reflections from your host Fié Neo to end the year! Thank you all for being on this journey with me.  If you'd like to say hello, share any thoughts or be updated through email, drop me a message via Facebook: @onionstalk Email: heyonionstalk@gmail.com Instagram: @feeyeh_neo

What do tap dancing, music and social change have in common? How can we create environments where dreams are possible?  Corina Kwami and I talked about learning to listen through songs and tap dancing, about losing the ability to learn together, about what care means during a pandemic.  Corina Kwami is a Renaissance woman whose mission is to celebrate jazz and what it offers innovators on and off stage. On stage as a public speaker, singer or tap dancer, she has  performed in countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia with her own band and as a guest, as a TEDx speaker and in the innovation lab space. She has been recognised for her "impressive grasp of what jazz can teach us about leadership, partnerships, and innovative thinking" at the UNLEASH Innovation Lab. Her work cuts across the arts and sciences, music and dance and recalls the past to inspire future innovation. Based in London, she plays with her band Corina Kwami & the Swing Selection, collaborates in the jazz, tap and swing circuit and continues to explore ways of building linkages between the arts and sciences.  Check out more at: www.corinakwami.com   *Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth (43:25) 🌟This episode features some live singing and tap dancing. This is part of a mini series on wayfinding as I talk to artists I’m working with on this residency. We share our respective wayfinding journeys through the chaos we live in right now, in the hope that we can offer some comfort through our art and music.

Eily Aurora shares her passion for improvising with nature. Growing up in the countryside, she learned from a young age from local Canadian indigenous people how to listen, learn and communicate with the natural world. To make the song of nature audible, she uses The Music of the Plants device. It's an instrument that can perceive the electromagnetic variations emitted from the surface of plant leaves and the root system and translate them into sound.  Nature is not only alive, but is aware and responds to her surroundings. In fact, trees have up to 20 senses to take in their environment! Wherever you are, may this podcast help you tune-out the noise of the city, and tune-in to the frequency and endless wisdom of nature. Eily is a singer/songwriter, harpist, Harp Faery clown, and social innovation facilitator in Calgary, Canada. She has performed across stages in North America for over a decade and has designed creative and participatory methods for mental wellness at cSPACE King Edward Arts Hub as a member of Alberta Social Innovation Connect’s Community Catalyst Program. As a systemic constellations facilitator, she presents and speaks about her research on the power of soundwork to impact community wisdom internationally. www.eilyaurora.com www.instagram.com/theharpfaery This episode is a part of a mini series on wayfinding as I talk to artists I’m working with on the artist-composer residency with Social Innovation Exchange. We share our respective wayfinding journeys through the chaos we live in right now, in the hope that we can offer some comfort through our art and music.

SIX is like a spark in the system that brings together different unlikely groups to connect and act. They create spaces for different stakeholders in an ecosystem to convene. So Jung (or "So") shares their Wayfinder project as well as their philosophy and processes at SIX, very much about relationships and exchange. She shares the importance of relationships and safe spaces for honesty and trust to pave way for action.

So has lived and worked in various countries, from South Korea to Mexico and currently resides in the UK. She is passionate about connecting people and developing social innovation capacity through her work at Social Innovation Exchange.

We are at a crossroad, in a climate emergency. Earth is burning and it seems like the only solutions we have are in tech and renewable energy. Are they really sustainable for people and environment? This panel discussion focuses on social enterprises working with community, ecology and care. We will discuss the future of work within the social and environmental care sector and how jobs can be created with communities, for communities. There is another story, another narrative, another way of being that doesn't have to come at the expense of our well-being.  Event was live streamed on Stories of Asia Facebook page. For more live events, follow Onions Talk on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/onionstalk Guest speakers: Biji Biji Juliana Adam, CEO www.biji-biji.com Langit Collective Zi, Co-founder http://langit.com.my SMU Lien centre for social innovation Christy Davis, Executive Director lcsi.smu.edu.sg

06:20 Interrupting racism requires courage and intentionality 18:30 Understanding privilege and how to be more aware 22:50 Micro Aggressions 29:50 “Being told to act more Indian” 36:00 Strategies to deal with micro-aggressions 42:14 What can you do to further this conversation? 10 takeaways Referenced books: White fragility by Robin Diangelo and So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo Articles to read: “Penatlah”: Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa’at, on racism and Chinese majoritarianism in Singapore https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2019/08/02/penatlah-singaporean-playwright-alfian-saat-on-racism-and-chinese-majoritarianism-in-singapore/ Why Chinese Singaporeans Telling Alfian Sa’at To Ignore Racist Remarks Is Chinese Privilege https://rilek1corner.com/2017/06/02/alfian-saat-everyday-racism-so-casual-and-commonplace-to-its-perpetrators-that-it-doesnt-register-as-racism/ Beyond the Hijab https://beyondhijab.sg Minority Voices https://www.minorityvoices.net

This episode took courage to produce. It’s a hush hush topic in Singapore (a country with longstanding tradition of censorship), people don’t like to talk about it and it’s often seen as controversial. But this was something we felt we had to talk about to open up this conversation. So, let’s talk about race. Adeeb is the Artistic Director of The Second Breakfast Company, and has also worked with Bhumi Collective and Adeeb & Shai. Adeeb is also a founding member of Impromptu Meetings, and works with young people as a freelance drama educator. 9:20 Did the #BLM conversation translate into racial conversations in Singapore’s context? 11:43 Making sense of racism 12:19 Having the right words for these experiences 16:30 Brown face in Singapore, backlash against people who stood up against the brown face saga 25:30 Theatre in Singapore to open up difficult conversations 27:00 National Arts Council gatekeeping and censorship 37:00 Curation and control through licensing

What is humane technology? Are we gearing up for a digital revolution? How do we democratise tech? How can we be co-creators? Why are we not creating apps that help us maintain relationships? Pawel is a lecturer of Interaction Design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. Feel free to connect with him at info@postdigital.nl

How are Ecuadorians dealing with Covid-19? What are some coping strategies? How is mental health seen in Ecuador? Adriana Alzamora shares her budding entrepreneurship journey setting up a psychotherapy centre called Psicocare in the capital, Quito. Frustrated by the lack of jobs in this bleak economic landscape, four of her friends and her decided to start their own company. #mentalhealth

Iris shares their experience growing up in Hawaii and the islands’ difficult colonisation history. We discussed how one agreement with the United States made months too early missed them the chance to decolonise themselves under international law, the importance of fables, myths and stories in Hawaiian culture, the need to introduce alternative narratives to counter the dominant western worldview, a different way of looking at land ownership - one that doesn’t belong to people but Gods, the commodification of Hawaiian culture (or not), the impact of COVID-19 on Hawaii and a new Hawaiian political party.  (If you are a US citizen, remember to vote!) To read more about Hawaii: The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by his Hawaiian Majesty Kalakaua.

Aysen shares her incredible story from Turkey to England, from escaping political imprisonment to building her philosophy around activism - activism as a lifestyle. She offers a different take on activism, beyond demonstrations and protests. Activism is about knowing where you live and the people you live with. It’s about talking to real people, real problems because change comes from how much you work within communities. It’s about sharing with and caring for the people around you. 

Helen is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher with the Culture of Cities Centre, Board member with the Centre for Social Innovation, and a Salzburg Global Fellow. She leads the Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence in Toronto, which develops experimental applications of artistic intelligence for society, particularly in matters of public policy. She wears many hats and works across various disciplines. In this episode, we talk about how to be versatile as an artist, how art creates change and transformation in an indirect and organic way and how opportunities arise from connections. https://artisticintelligence.com https://helenyung.com

How can we improve the environmental health of the Planet 🌍 and the societal wellbeing for billions of living beings, including humans? What is the Everything Manifesto? How is IAM going to do this over the next billion seconds? This episode is about the urgency of the climate crisis and what we can do moving forward. Thought 🔄 action | Internet ➡️Tools | Collective Critical Hope 🌀 Futures 🌀Solidarity | 👫Citizenship VS Users/ Consumers IAM is an alternative think tank that is dedicated to exploring the multidimensional implication the digital economies has on the environment and on our collective and individual health and wellness. 👩‍💻They look at the post-technological futures of everything. They are a creative foresight & strategic design consultancy using futures as tools to help organisations grow their cultural relevance and increase the positive influence they can have in the Planet during this new decade, and beyond. They also organise IAM Weekend, which is an annual gathering for creative thinkers & doers exploring the futures of the internet(s), since 2015. https://www.iam-internet.com

What does it mean to be seen and heard? This episode is about human connection, image making, community building, activism and listening. Andrea Luka Zimmerman is an artist, filmmaker and cultural activist whose work unveils aspects of working class experience, and that of people living on the margins of society, who are seldom seen or discussed. Using imaginative hybridity and narrative re-framing, the work prioritises an enduring and equitable co-existence, and there is often a focus on the importance of social bonds within these communities. Award winning and nominated films include Here For Life (2019), Erase and Forget (2017) and Estate, a Reverie (2015).  https://fugitiveimages.org.uk

Jonathan Collie is a passionate social entrepreneur. He began his career as a doctor in the NHS before moving into health IT via an MBA at University of Edinburgh. In 2016, Jonathan co-founded The Age of No Retirement CIC to radically reshape society's thinking around Age and create new solutions that embraced our longer, healthier, more productive lives. He has also been leading the development of The Common Room model in the past two years. The Common Room is a brand new concept in community thinking. The Common Rooms are where younger and older come together in dynamic exploration and discovery. It is where human connection, collaboration and the power of “together” thrive.

The Common Room/ The Age of No Retirement

This episode is about being human, being present, being an artist. Teiya Kasahara 笠原 貞野 (they/them) is an opera singer, theatre creator and co-founder of Amplified Opera based in Canada. They are queer, gender non-binary and of Japanese and German roots. We talk about race, gender, identity but also about what it means to hold space, to be empathetic and to listen. It is a genuine conversation between two people of colour in an emotionally charged moment in history. We share our experiences, our reflections and the importance of opening up spaces for such difficult conversations so that we can bridge and heal collectively as a society. In Teiya’s words, we can counter systemic racism and oppression through the lens of love, honesty and honour. www.teiyakasahara.com Co-founder of Amplified Opera Founder/Head Coach of the Vocal Dōjō Special thanks to Anna Driftmier for connecting us!