_Hello
We are _SocialStarters and we design international development, career change and social entrepreneurship programmes that see the growth of social enterprise with some of the world’s hardest to reach people. We are looking for the right people to join us! •Are you a graduate, post-grad, career changer, sabbaticalist, corporate learner, freelancer or aspiring social entrepreneur? •Are you looking to travel with purpose? •Would you like a volunteer experience that tackles real social goals focusing on two way development and sustainability?
_WhoWeAre We are a small group of young professionals who have been making our move away from the corporate sector in the last few years. Since then we’ve been notching up hours in volunteer management, international development, youth media, CSR & Social Enterprise. We have over 30 years of professional experience, managing over 200 volunteers along the way.
#JoinUs in two of Brazil’s most fascinating cities - Rio and São Paulo! We have forged fantastic partnerships in Brazil which mean you’ll be playing a role in shaping a cultural legacy ahead of the 2016 Rio Games alongside the team behind one of the biggest London 2012 youth legacy projects. If that excites you, and you think you have the transferable skills to work alongside young creatives to launch social start-ups then we want to hear from you!
_SocialStarters works with two groups of people:
Our mission for this Programme is to bring together young, talented people from different worlds to create change. You will meet, learn from - and work amongst - some of the most exciting and creative social entrepreneurs Rio and São Paulo has to offer. And you’ll do this alongside some of the most incredible landscape and iconic scenery in the world.
_OfficialPartners
Our current volunteers have worked at L’Oreal, the UN, Innocent Drinks, Sony Playstation, KPMG, Cancer Research UK and covering a range of sectors from theatre to tech and everything in between. Interested? Then send your CV with a cover note to info@socialstarters.org ASAP. Mark in the subject heading what programme you are applying for.
1. International volunteers who want to gain hands on social entrepreneurship experience 2. Entrepreneurs in developing countries who lack access to training in social entrepreneurship
We are delivering training programmes throughout 2015 in Sri Lanka, India & Brazil working with brilliant partners who aim to nurture and grow social entrepreneurship in their communities. In India we work with UnLtd India, and in Brazil we work with key organisations playing a role in the cultural and youth development legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games including EixoRio, a department of Rio’s State Secretariat of Culture.
The idea is that the skilled professionals (that’s you!) that complete our programmes, return to their communities, motivated and inspired to take the next step in their social impact career journey. We connect these two groups, young aspiring entrepreneurs and skilled professionals together, to develop sustainable social impact ventures and launch new impactful start-ups. Our collaborative accelerator programme sees international volunteers become _ SocialStarters, taking all the current thinking around social innovation and design thinking to hard to reach places.
We have forged partnerships with a range of organisations in Brazil which will see our volunteers supporting passionate and motivated young people who have developed grassroots projects and enterprises. _Social Starters will work with young Brazilian entrepreneurs to strengthen their reach and impact in their communities.
_OurApproach COLLABORATE We bring together people from different worlds to create change. We train you up to become a Social Enterprise Consultant, and you will work with a group of micro start-ups, young people, or existing grassroots social entrepreneurs to help them identify problems, design solutions, test ideas and get them ready for launch.
LEARN During the Bootcamp you will learn about specific tools that enable you to devise, test and develop your own ideas for social change in your community. You’ll be introduced to social entrepreneurship, start-up methods, business modelling, financial sustainability and what it means to work with the base of the pyramid.
DESIGN _SocialStarters gives you the tools and inspiration to design change in your own lives as well as others. Whether you want to develop your own start-up ideas, turn your passion into a business or move into a more meaningful career, we create space for you to explore your values and what it is that makes you tick so that you can return home feeling ready to make your next move.
“
Working with _SocialStarters pushed me in many ways that I will continue to benefit from for a long time after this programme. From working abroad, experiencing a new culture (both socially and workwise), learning about social entrepreneurship and working with a diverse mix of talented people.
”
_SocialStartes Graduate, India, Feb 2015
“Bootcamp was an enriching experience; it is not often you get the chance to work with such a diverse and impressive group of people, at the same time building and developing your own business and personal skills.” Juan Galan, Graduate from McGill University, Canada
_RIO DE JANEIRo
_YouthPartnerships
ExioRio, Agência and Oi! Kabum Ipanema work with young entrepreneurs across different communities. Each of these partners work with a network of young creatives, aspiring entrepreneurs and projects and work to boost the range of support and opportunities available to this group. Agência in particular have developed a methodology which empowers young people to develop their ideas into new projects.
_WhatYouWouldLearn You will gain hands on experience of working with a start-up social enterprise (that’s us!) contributing to our own start-up journey. Helping us be able to show more people globally how to ‘transform their lives through social entrepreneurship. Our collaborative accelerator programme sees international volunteers become _SocialStarters, taking all the current thinking around social innovation and design thinking to hard to reach places, developing sustainable social impact ventures along the way. This programme means you can travel with purpose. Over the weeks, you will collaborate, learn and design solutions to real social challenges in Brazil alongside likeminded, talented, international peers. You will meet incredible social entrepreneurs who are changing the face of Brazil, and get to take part in workshops and sessions that broaden your knowledge and experience of start-up methods and social entrepreneurship.
We’ll be supporting you through career coaching and ideation workshops to enable you to feel ready to tackle your ‘what next’.
“
I’ve attended dozens of training courses and workshops in my time, and I have to say that the format, style and quality of the training has been exceptional. I’ve learnt more than I ever could have imagined on topics such as social enterprise, lean start-ups and the local market. It’s been a fully rounded and immersive experience.”
”
Paul Goff, Former Supply Chain Consultant, Deloitte, UK.
“
I have found my involvement one of the most rewarding cultural, intellectual and socially impactful experiences of my life. I’ve met some amazing people both locals and other consultants ; learnt new skills and it’s really opened my eyes to new opportunities. _SocialStarters is definitely traveling with true purpose.
”
_SocialStarters Graduate, India Feb 2015
_WhatYouWillDo
“Social Starters gives you the chance to spend time learning and living with a bunch of amazingly talented people, working alongside social entrepreneurs putting their hearts and souls into brilliant projects impacting other peoples’ lives for good. What’s not to like? You simply can’t put a price on this type of experience.” _Social Starters Graduate, India, Feb 2015
Your clients will be a young and aspiring, creative entrepreneurs in Brazil, who need support to gain greater visibility for their projects through arts, culture and social enterprise. The _Social Starters Brazil programmes offers experienced professionals an exciting opportunity to share their expertise and learn from driven, young entrepreneurs. Brazil is a hotbed of social entrepreneurial talent, so this is a really exciting opportunity to get involved at a grassroots level and gain hands on experience in international development. You will be making a real difference to young entrepreneurs who are making a difference within their communities through arts and Brazilian culture. You’ll have a chance to help develop talented young creatives. What are your passions and values and how will this shape the path you lead yourself on? We will help you try and answer some of these questions on our Immersion Programme. The time you spend with Brazilian young people will also play a big part in inspiring you.
_São Paulo
The tools you learn will contribute to your own professional development and influence your what next at the aend of the programme.
“
We have the most incredible range of talent within the room, covering almost every topic you can imagine, from developers to entrepreneurs. It’s been incredible getting to know each persons’ background and I can tell that I will be lucky enough to gain something insightful from each one of them.
”
Emma Wilson, Former Brand Controller, L’Oreal, UK.
_ProgrammeFee: £2080.00 _Includes: Accommodation (42 nights) *1 week-long training bootcamp *Teaching materials for your clients *Any programme related printing, photocopying, workbooks *Travel within the community to visit clients *Pre-arranged return airport transfer from nearest local airport *WIFI *Local sim card (bring your own phone) *Weekly phone credit budget
#JoinUs In recent years, Brazil has seen an increase in social enterprises and start-ups looking to tackle some of the country’s biggest issues around youth, corruption, civil rights, environment and education through arts, culture, social activism and campaigning. We’ve got a big ask – can you help us take social entrepreneurship training to a country that is facing a range of significant challenges within its communities? We will train you, but you’ll also bring a wealth of experience to the country from your time working in marketing and communications, business strategy, customer development, finances, law or sales – it’s all relevant. We’ll show you how transferable your skills are. What’s essential will be your passion to drive a new form of impact, in a place that’s ‘truly harness the potential and power of social enterprise.
*Weekly ‘headspace’ half day excursion/trip
_Doesn’t Include: - International flights - Tourist visa - Vaccinations - Insurance
“Life’s too short” is repeated often enough to be a cliche, but this time it’s true. You don’t have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It’s not just pointless, it’s painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” -
Seth Godin
_HowWeStarted We started _SocialStarters in Kenya as an experiment to test whether social entrepreneurship training with hard to reach people can empower them to climb their own way out of poverty. Following a successful pilot, and new launches in India, Sri Lanka and Brazil, we are confident about our methodology and approach to bringing people together to create change. We have ambitious aims! We do expect with your help, that aspiring social entrepreneurs will be able to strengthen their solutions to serious social issues. And we look forward to seeing your ideas for creating change in your community. Could this be the start of a sustainable volunteer programme that truly creates change? You will be instrumental in helping us find out.
_TheTeam _ANDREA GAMSON _CO-FOUNDER A social enterprise, communications and youth engagement specialist who studied one of the first digital media degrees in the UK. Andrea thrives when impacting positive change. She spent a while post-university selling advertising & marketing campaigns to global brands, charities & media; then found herself launching and developing projects for some of the brightest youth organisations and social enterprises in the UK, including taking Brixton’s foremost youth-run ‘Live Magazine’ national for Livity (2013 Queens Award for Enterprise, the Observer & Nesta’s New Radicals 2012, E&Y Entrepreneurs of the Year). Andrea has a passion for community development, particularly around impact of digital; and is dedicated to global & UK youth issues. Over the years clients and employers have included News International, Bauer Media, Livity, O2, Barclays, Converse, Nike, Adidas, PwC, Australia Tourism, British Film Institute, C4, Cabinet Office, and TFL.
_ANNA MORAN _CO-FOUNDER With eight years’ experience in the development sector, and experience of working on seven different youth volunteer programmes overseas for organisations such as VSO (the ICS Programme), Balloon Kenya and Project Peru. Anna previously set up and ran a two-year volunteer programme in Peru, for which she was nominated for Woman of The Future Voluntary Award, and is passionate about social entrepreneurship as an alternative approach to addressing social issues. She believes that overseas volunteer programmes are a valuable opportunity to develop young people into future leaders and social entrepreneurs.
_JISELLE STEELE _IN-COUNTRY DIRECTOR Jiselle is a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow who confirmed her love for Brazil and working with young people and social enterprises during a 2 month research project exploring whether social enterprise could be a catalyst for change amongst young Brazilians. With over 9 years’ experience managing projects and working with organisations across the voluntary, public, private and social enterprise sectors, Jiselle was part of the team who ran and delivered the largest youth legacy programme as part of London 2012 Games. Jiselle is passionate about empowering young people to create and access opportunities which develop them professionally and personally, and is now running our six week Immersion Programme in Brazil.
_ProgrammeDates Rio: 31st Oct - 12th Dec 2015 Rio: 21st Feb - 3rd Apr 2016 TBC: 23rd Apr - 5th Jun 2016 TBC: July/August 2016 (Sports Special)
_ContactUs Send your CV and Covering Letter to: info@socialstarters.org. Please state clearly in the subject heading which programme, country and dates you are interested in.