_Hello #JoinUs in Brazil’s most fascinating city, Rio. 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!
__Are you a career changer, career breaker, post-grad, sabbaticalist, corporate learner, freelancer or aspiring social entrepreneur? __Are you looking to trave l with purpose? __Would you like a career changing volunteer experience that tackles real social goals with a heavy focus on two way development and sustainability? Our current volunteers have worked at L’Oreal, the UN, Innocent Drinks, Sony Playstation, KPMG, Cancer Research UK, covering a range of sectors from finance to marketing and everything in between.
_Interested? Then apply via our online Application Form. We have two programmes running in early 2016: 19th March - 30th April 4th June - 16th July Or you can get in touch with us at info@socialstarters.org.
_Who We Are We are _SocialStarters and we design international development, career change and social entrepreneurship volunteer programmes that support the growth of social enterprise in developing countries. Currently operating in Sri Lanka, Brazil and India, we are looking for the right people to join us on our mission! 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.
_SocialStarters brings together two groups of people: 1. Skilled professionals who want to volunteer and gain hands on social entrepreneurship experience 2. Entrepreneurs in developing countries who lack access to training in social entrepreneurship We connect these two groups together by matching the skills and experience of our skilled professionals with the business needs of the entrepreneurs. This matching results in the development of sustainable social impact ventures and the launch of new impactful start-ups. On our programmes we train groups of international volunteers to become Social Impact Consultants, taking all the current thinking around start-up methods and social innovation to hard to reach places.
_Who We Work with We are delivering programmes throughout 2016 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 the country's leading social enterprise incubator - UnLtd India, who are supporting the development of social impact start-ups.
In Brazil we work with key organisations such as EixoRio who are playing a role in the cultural and youth development legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In Sri Lanka we work with British Council as part of their Global Social Enterprise Programme and Good Market who run a eco-friendly market in Colombo.
COLLABORATE We bring together people from different worlds to create change. We train you up to become a Social Impact 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, build brands and get them ready for launch. You will further gain and share knowledge from your fellow consultants on a variety of different topics.
LEARN During our initial Training Week we will equip you to become Social Impact Consultants, giving you tools and knowledge that you can apply right from the start of the programme. You’ll be introduced to social entrepreneurship in a global and Indian context - getting inspired by incredible people doing amazing things, start-up methods, cross cultural working and consultancy tools. The learning doesn't end there. In addition to immersing yourself with your client work, you will participate in weekly half-day sessions to further your personal development, social enterprise and business start-up knowledge.
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.
_Our approach
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A practical approach that allows you to apply newlyacquired start-up thinking to local social enterprises in Rio's communidades. You will work with fascinating, visionary entrepreneurs to help them shape their business and make a real impact on the local Rio community.
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_SocialStarters Graduate, Brazil, June 2015
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I applied to the programme with an open mind and no real expectations of what was to come. The training week was fast paced, exciting, innovative, and really challenged my current ways of thinking. This was invaluable for the next stage of working with clients, as I felt equipped with the right tools to help them overcome the challenges their projects faced. Being one of a multidisciplinary team from all over the world gave support, value and added lots of fun to the experience. Life is really what you make it, and this experience has left me with a new perspective, new friends, and a renewed energy to go and make a difference in the world. Bring it on! _SocialStarters Graduate, Brazil, June 2015
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_Case Study Soldado Anônimo, Rio de Janeiro Jun 2015 Consultant: Louise Thomson João, 22, is one of the co-founders of the collective Soldado Anônimo (‘Anonymous Solider’), which became well known for its interventions around different issues during the 2014 World Cup campaigning for children’s rights. The collective have a social mission: to invest in the creative potential of young people from Rio’s low-income communities and wanted to set up an integrated arts school – an “incubator of ideas”. The incubator will not only enable talented young people to develop technical skills for the future job market, but also stimulate their own capacity to find innovative solutions to problems in their communities. João and his team were determined to deliver sustainable social impact and ensure that the incubator was both financially viable and self-sufficient; promoting financial empowerment through helping students to find employment, community empowerment through nurturing local talent and problem-solving and being selfsustaining. João and Louise spent 5 weeks generating and testing ideas for different business models that were able to bridge the gap between the social mission of the incubator and potential commercial strategies.
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I learned about social enterprise and entrepreneurship in the best possible way - by doing. One of the biggest turning points during our project came from a very simple act of reframing the question: instead of asking, “how do we find a customer group who are willing to fund the incubator?” we asked ourselves: “how do we sell the idea of the incubator to customers?” João and his team are now applying for grant funding that will cover the costs of running a pilot version of the incubator early next year
_What You Would Learn You will gain hands on experience of working with a start-up (that’s us!), joining many other alumni who have become part of our start-up journey. 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. The idea is that the skilled professionals (that’s you!) return to your communities, motivated and inspired to take the next step in your social impact career journey. We’ll be supporting you with career coaching to enable you to feel ready to tackle your ‘what next’. This programme means you can travel with purpose. Over the six weeks, you’d collaborate, learn and design solutions to real social challenges in India alongside likeminded, talented, international peers. You’d meet incredible social entrepreneurs who are creating impact both locally and nationally, and you would take part in workshops and sessions that broaden your knowledge and experience of start-up methods and social entrepreneurship.
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My experience with Social Starters was great. I connected with like-minded people and got the confidence to start my own projects back home.
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_SocialStarters Graduate, Brazil, June 2015
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“I quit my job to spend the summer in Brazil working with _SocialStarters and have returned full of ideas, inspiration and energy. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with my career and my life and the program not only gave me the space I needed to do that but pushed me to do things I wouldn't have had the confidence to do otherwise and discover skills I didn't think I had. _SocialStarters Graduate, Brazil, June 2015
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Rio is famed for its gorgeous beaches, staggering landscape, winding favelas, and its annual Carnival festival. Soon it will be adding the Olympics to its list of attractions, making it one of the most culturally vibrant cities on the planet. Founded by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, Rio's population has exploded to nearly 15 million in recent years. It is wellconnected by taxis, buses, and the metro. One can spend a lifetime roaming the beaches, climbing Sugarloaf Mountain, and learning about the city's history in some of the many museums. "Cariocas, (the name for residents of Rio) are massive fans of the barbeque or 'churrasco' as well as sushi and you can expect to sample a variety of both types of cuisine while you're here. Also, you mustn't leave Rio without trying the sweet and local caipirinha beverage.
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Rio is a vibrant and fascinating city, which has so much more to offer than the beaches, and famous landmarks you find on postcards. The best way to get to know the city is by spending time exploring it, connecting with the warm and charming cariocas who are always keen to share their stories and learn more about yours too! Jiselle Steele _SocialStarters, In-Country Director
Rio De janeiro
_What You Will Do Within six weeks you will have the opportunity to develop yourself personally & professionally as well as working to make an impact on a local social entrepreneur's organisation. Here are just some of the things you will be doing:
_ Training Week _Volunteer with a Social Entrepreneur _Excursions & Trips _Weekly Workshops _1 to 1 sessions with Programme Manager _Networking & Talks _Visits to meet Social Entrepreneurs
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Our consultant allowed us to look at our project without focusing on the barriers that we have had to deal with for a long time. Having a new perspective helped us to look at our ideas differently João Gilberto Lopes, Co-Founder of Soldado Anonimo
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_Programme Fee: £2280.00 _Includes: _Accommodation (42 nights) _Training Week (6 x 1/2 day workshops in Social Entrepreneurship, Start Up Methods, Consultancy Tools & Techniques, Design Thinking and Cross Cultural Working) _A copy of our Consultancy Guide _A copy of the _SocialStarters Start Up Manual _Personal development 1:1s _3 x career coaching workshops _Teaching materials for your clients _Any programme related printing, photocopying, workbooks _Travel within the community to visit clients _Return airport transfer from and to nearest local airport _WiFi _Local sim card (bring your own phone) _Weekly phone credit budget _Weekly excursions
_Doesn’t Include: _International flights _Tourist visa _Vaccinations _Tourist visa _Travel Insurance
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#JoinUs
'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.
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Seth Godin
Best Selling Author
_How We Started Both Co-founders met whilst managing a volunteer programme in Kenya in 2014. It was whilst they were in Kenya that they developed an idea that they wanted to test - whether a social entrepreneurship training programme could support people to climb their own way out of poverty. At the same time they found out that VSO in Kenya were looking for partners to deliver social entrepreneurship training to their youth alumni. They seized the opportunity and pitched for the contract, which they won. And _SocialStarters was born. 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 know that with your help, social entrepreneurs in developing countries will be able to strengthen their solutions to serious social issues. And we also know that this experience can inspire and equip participants to to make a change in their communities once they return home. It can take an experience like this to unlock the social changer in you. Could this be the start of a sustainable volunteer programme that truly creates change? You will be instrumental in helping us find out.
_The Team 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
Anna was 21 years old when she set up her first volunteer programme after travelling to Peru, for which she went on to be nominated for the Woman of The Future Voluntary Award. Since then she has racked up 7 years of experience in the development sector in fundraising and volunteer management, ran youth volunteer programmes overseas for organisations such as VSO, Balloon Kenya and Project Peru and worked with nearly 200 volunteers around the world. During her time at VSO Anna worked on the UK Government’s launch of the international youth volunteer programme - International Citizen Service (ICS), supporting them to fundraise £1m in their first year. She then went on to manage the very first ICS volunteer programmes in Kenya and Tanzania and has been working in volunteer management ever since. Anna passionately believes that volunteering experiences are not just about two way learning or skills sharing but an important opportunity for volunteers to become inspired and equipped to also make change in their own communities.
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.
_Programme Dates 2016 19th March - 30th April & 4th June - 16th July
_Contact Us Apply via our online Application Form. Please state clearly in the subject heading which programme, country and dates you are interested in.