Tomorrow at Dialogue Cafe:


This event is organised by the Social Innovation eXchange (SIX), with Cisco and Dialogue Cafe, and will bring together participants from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.

This SIX TelePresence session will focus on the ecology of finance which supports, directs and, in some cases, blocks the processes of social innovation. All over the world, there are now many funds for social innovation, as well as institutions with dedicated innovation units or teams within large institutions who play a key role in mobilising resources for social innovation. Despite this, finance for social innovation is often inadequate, ill-suited, or unsustainable, and therefore remains a key factor hindering the development of social innovation.

This TelePresence session is part of the part of the Social Innovation Europe Initiative. The Social Innovation eXchange will be producing a report which will explore what a new funding model for social innovation in Europe might look like and how the selection of projects might be optimised. The idea of a multi stage fund through stages of innovation will be developed. The report will look at types (and possible combinations) of instruments needed by social innovators and ways to improve access by social innovators to existing financial resources. This TelePresence session offers a unique opportunity to guide this report and its eventual recommendations at a key moment in its development.

On 1 June 2011, SIX will bring together a selection of people for whom the ecology of finance is a primary concern; public managers and staff, social innovators, business partners, researchers, consultants and others with a stake in the finance and growth of social innovations will come together for a truly global discussion. 

By Ahmed Maher who participated in co-creating democracy from Cairo:

On the occasion of the Social Innovation Exchange forum which took place in Amsterdam on 24th of May, Dialogue Café, affiliated to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) gave Tarek Osman, Karim Kasim, Laura Kfoury, Raha Kamal and me the opportunity to connect with Brazil, Qatar, Portugal and the Netherlands to share our thoughts and ideas about the importance of technology and social media.

In Egypt, mobile phones, Facebook and Twitter paved a path for protest. Now the seeds of democracy are being sown. Tarek Osman, the Egyptian young writer and  author of "Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak", he spoke about the Egyptian revolution and stressed on how the young generation sparked the rebellions that toppled the Tunisian and Egyptian administrations, and is currently leading the effort to accomplish similar changes in Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and Libya.

During the demonstrations in Tahrir Square, youth groups of all political movements and backgrounds came together to discuss politics. Not only political movements' members but huge number of youth participated as well in such discussion which proved that the Egyptian youth are eager to learn about politics.

I think that these days are very important to have Dialogue Café in Cairo. Because we do need to listen to others as much as we need our voices as Egyptian youth to be heard. Because it's very crucial after the great success we reached from my own point of view to move on and build on our success. We really need to learn the real meaning of democracy, how to be part of decision making and how to move on and start the real change. This will not happen without experience sharing and listening to real experiences from all around the world.

By Ahmed Maher

Martin Stewart-Weeks shares his experience of co-creating democracy @ Dialogue Cafe:

There's something powerful about the way people, technology and passion collide to create real insight and engagement.  That's what happened at both Dialogue Cafe events at the SIX Spring School in Amsterdam last week.

Rehearsing the bare facts is impressive enough...two sessions on successive days linking Amsterdam with Cairo, Doha, Dubai, Lisbon and Amsterdam, connecting some 50 or 60 people across the two sessions in lively debate about the Arab "spring" of democratic change and what it might mean for the region and for other countries too.  And all enabled across a platform of high quality video technology that made you feel you were just around the corner, not right across the world.

But these basic facts are not the real story.  The real story is the kind of human interaction and engagement which the Cafe provisions, creating a relatively simple platform (give or take a bit of technical wizardry behind the scenes!) that allows people with insight, experience and expertise to share and teach.

We talk a lot about the need for massive doses of understanding, learning and tolerance to ease some of the tensions in our world and to build effective bridges between cultures.  Indeed, that is what the Dialogue Cafe venture is all about.  But in the end, you build bridges between cultures by nurturing connections between people.  In fact, it's the only way to make change happen and to make it stick.  What we saw last week in Amsterdam was a powerful illustration of how that works in practice, one lively, engaging and provocative conversation at a time.

And the quality and impact of both sessions motivated their own consequences, with energetic agreement by those involved to come together in a couple of months to keep the discussion going, to learn more and to look for ways to support the "spring" reforms in the Middle East and, just as importantly, to put the lessons being learned about the power of co-creating democratic change to good use for all of us.

Powerful stuff indeed...     

By Martin Stewart-Weeks

Technology and social media are tools for 'co-creation' - they enable people to come together and collaborate in new and different ways. Nowhere has the power of social media been more strongly felt than in North Africa and the Middle East. In the last few months, students, protestors and activists have been making use of social media tools and platforms - such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - to organise themselves, call for change and disseminate information about what has been happening across the region.

In this way, social media enabled a revolution - but could it enable a democracy? Can social media and other technologies be used to co-create a democracy and strengthen civic society? How can social media and other technologies be used to support government "by" and "with" the people and not just "for" the people? What are the key challenges facing the transition to democracy can these be overcome through citizen engagement?

These are some of the challenges and issues we discussed at Dialogue Café on the 24th and 25th May in the two sessions we organised as part of the SIX Spring School 2011.  



In Cairo we were joined by, amongst others, Tarek Osman who talked about the longer-term social, economic and political factors, which contributed to the revolution. See here for his article on the subject and here for his latest article on sectarianism in Egypt.




In Lisbon we were joined by President Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and journalists Pedro Lomba and Bruno Faria Lopes. In Doha, we were joined by Yomna Taher and Ahmed Ashour from Al Jazeera Talk and students from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar in Doha. In Rio we were joined by Mayra Jucá from Viva Rio and Oona Castro from OvermundoLab and in Amsterdam we were joined by Thomas Loudon and Arend Jan van den Beld, founders of the VJ Movement, a global community for journalists and citizen journalists.

DESIGNING DEMOCRACIES, NOT JUST BUREAUCRACIES WITH DOHA, DUBAI AND CAIRO

Wednesday 25th May
10.30-12.30pm (Amsterdam)
Participating Locations: Cairo, Doha, Amsterdam, Dubai and Lisbon

This global conversation will bring together, via video conferencing, civil society actors, academics, NGOs, students, media activists, policy makers and social innovators in Cairo, Doha, Lisbon and Amsterdam to discuss the challenges and opportunities of co-creation in government.

Across the globe, governments are increasingly interested in citizen engagement and co-creation. But can citizen driven innovation really address social needs in a new way? Can it be used to create a democracy and strengthen civic society? Can it help create institutions that are more open, transparent and user-centred? What are the most effective strategies for governments and public institutions? How can new approaches help governments and businesses become more effective in engaging with communities and inspire meaningful participation in civil society? What can governments, NGOs and citizens' groups in the Middle East learn from effective models for citizen engagement in Europe?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What does co-creation mean in the context of the Arab Spring?
How can social media and other technologies be used to support government and public sector "by" and "with" the people and not just "for" the people?
What are the tools, strategies and approaches that governments and organisations in the Middle East can use to create open, democratic and transparent institutions?
What are the key challenges facing the transition to democracy can these be overcome through citizen engagement?
More than half the population of the Arab world is under 30 years old. Is there a new wave of entrepreneurship and cultural creativity sweeping the Arab world? Is this an opportunity to address youth unemployment?
How can we harness the energy of the revolutionary process and keep citizens engaged in the political process?
Can we create the global and regional platforms and programs that will enable us to share knowledge and learn for each other?

SPEAKERS

Dr. Tarik M. Yousef is the founding Dean of the Dubai School of Government. He joined the School from Georgetown University, where he held the positions of Associate Professor of Economics in the School of Foreign Service, and Sheikh Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah Professor of Arab Studies at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. An expert on the economies of the Arab world, he received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University with specialization in development economics and economic history. His current research interests include the study of youth inclusion in the Arab world, the political economy of policy reform and development policies in oil-exporting countries. Dr. Yousef's research and policy experience includes working as Economist in the Middle East Department of the International Monetary Fund, Visiting Senior Economist in the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank, and Senior Advisor for the Millennium Project at the United Nations. At present, he is a Senior Fellow in the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Brookings Institution and Senior Fellow in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. http://www.dsg.ae/

Loula Zaklama, Rada Research. In 1962, at the age of 19, Ms. Zaklama founded Radar Advertising Agency, the only private sector advertising agency in a completely state-run economy where granting contracts to private firms was nearly impossible. In 1982, she formed RadaResearch & Public Relations Company to answer the needs of international companies looking for wider Middle East exposure. Her clients include IBM, DaimlerChrysler, Proctor & Gamble, Pfizer as well as a number of Egyptian companies. She is also the communication consultant for various ministries in Egypt. As an Egyptian woman, Ms. Zaklama transcended traditional gender barriers to become a highly successful businesswoman. She was selected as one of the "50 Arab leading businesswomen in the Middle East" in 2006 by Forbes and as one of the "50 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World" by the Star Group, sponsored by IBC and Fortune Magazine, in 1998.

Dina Wafa is the Director, of GAPP Executive Education, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP), American University of Cairo. The mission of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy Executive Education (GAPP ExecEd) program is to reinforce and reinvigorate leadership capacities within government agencies and public institutions in a challenging global environment within Egypt and the region.
http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/Pages/Home.aspx

Adolfo Mesquita Nunes is a lawyer and an active blogger at www.aartedafuga.blogspot, www.oinsurgente.org and www.ruadireita.blogs.sapo.pt. He is a candidate for Parliament in June's elections on the lists of the party CDS-PP.

Ilídio Nunes is a digital strategist at Ivity Brand Corp. He is also a partner and the digital manager of the jazz label Clean Feed. http://www.ivity-corp.com/

Dr Ahmed Younis is the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Communications at Silatech. Silatech's mission is to connect young people, 18-30 years old, with employment and enterprise opportunities. Its commitment is to mobilize interest, investment, knowledge, resources and action to drive large-scale comprehensive employment and enterprise development programmes. Silatech works across three critical domains: Thought Leadership; Investment; and Technology. http://www.silatech.com/

Maartje Nevejan is an independent filmmaker based in Amsterdam, with a background in theatre and multi media. In her projects she likes to research the (raw) poetic quality of reality.  One of Maartje's recent projects is Couscous & Cola, which was aired on Al Jazeera in 2007. http://www.nevejan.nl/index.html

Diogo Vasconcelos, SIX/Dialogue Cafe (Chair). Since February 2007, Diogo Vasconcelos has been a Distinguished Fellow with Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), the global open innovation and strategy group of Cisco.  He chaired the Business Panel on Future EU Innovation Policy, set up European Commission in January 2009, which called for a radical change in European innovation policies and paved the way for the "Innovation Union" initiative approved by the European Council. He co-authored the report on "Europe and Social Innovation" for the BEPA (Cabinet of the President of the European Commission). He Chairs SIX - Social Innovation eXchange, a global community of NGOs, global firms, public agencies and academics committed to improve the methods with which our societies find better solutions to challenges such as ageing, climate change, public services and healthcare. SIX is leading the European Social Innovation initiative, launched in March 2011.

This event is part of the Social Innovation Exchange Spring School 2011. http://www.socialinnovationexchange.org/spring-school-2011