Giving Compass' Take:

• The Emerging Leaders Initiative is a partnership that supports the rising generation of social entrepreneurs and offers recommendations on how to design more inclusive convenings.

• How can entrepreneurs and donors benefit from inclusion and intentionality? 

• Learn why inclusion is key for equitable systems change.

The Emerging Leaders Initiative (ELI), a six-year partnership between the Skoll Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation, sought to support the next generation of rising social entrepreneurs. Between 2014 and 2019, the program brought together 69 young leaders from around the world to experience and participate in the Skoll World Forum. With ELI now sunsetting, I had the honor and privilege of engaging with several of these amazing social entrepreneurs to hear how this program impacted them and what insights they have for similar efforts in the future.

While the full report outlines several key lessons on the themes of connection, learning, visibility, and growth, as the evaluator, this is my overarching takeaway:

Leadership programs, like ELI, are powerful tools for increasing diversity and fostering more proximity at global convenings, but organizers need to put a lot of intention and work into making sure these events are truly inclusive.

Here are some highlights from the report that can help make convenings more inclusive of diverse voices, especially young social entrepreneurs, women, and leaders from emerging markets:

  • Take steps to remove barriers that typically marginalized groups face at global convenings.
  • Help these new folks navigate the convening and make connections more easily.
  • Make Leaders visible by putting them on the convening agenda.

Global social impact convenings, like the Skoll World Forum, are powerful opportunities for changemakers, policy shapers, activists, social entrepreneurs, and thought leaders to come together, exchange ideas, learn from one another, and accelerate solutions to global challenges. But overcoming these challenges requires global, representative perspectives and input—especially from those most proximate to the problem.

Read the full article about inclusive convenings by Elyssa Lewis at Skoll.