the euforia youth summit
26 – 30 October 2011, Geneva
Magazine realised by
edito
For days nonstopp «That’s the difference between me and the rest of the world: happiness is not good enough for me, I demand euphoria!» Calvin and Hobbes might have been right but today is not about telling stories: many things in our world are going wrong and lots of global challenges need to be dealt with. As euforia points out, the will to make a difference is present, but only few
really step joyfully into action. So why not just take young idealistic people, put them together for five days in a social laboratory and let the spirit flow? That is how ideas and fantasy have the possibility to melt into concrete solutions. The recipe has been proven before and for the fourth time now, the youth enters the scene. A team of young journalists tried to bring the energy and the atmosphere
to paper through their own project. And finally both reporters and participants are fulfilling the same objective; they share a motivation and a strong will to give meaning to their actions. This magazine is meant to be an eloquent example of what youth can create with a bit of commitment. Juliette Ivanez & Eva Hirschi
«You have nothing to lose» The former participant of imp!act, Severin von Hünerbein has learnt his lesson well and brought his motivation to a higher level: with his 23 years the student has risen his own project and joined meanwhile the team of euforia. Interview: Juliette Ivanez I Photo: Joëlle Misson
You took part in the imp!act event of 2010 and launched your project afterwards. What message would you like to deliver to the 2011 participants? My message would be that you need to believe in your project. You basically need an idea and a motivation to realize it. And if you also have a good team, that’s heaven! Then I guarantee you are going to succeed, and in the end people will believe you can change something. Of course your idea needs to be a bit original; but just go for it! Just try, you have nothing to lose. Now present your project in about 30 seconds! CareAct is tackling climate change, because this is a truly severe issue we care for. We do not have the solution to diminish global warming, or to solve the entire problem, but we empower young people to take individual actions locally. If everybody acts step by step, we could finally contribute to the cause.
As a fresh change maker, you stated the following : «I do what I do because I think it’s right». How do you know what is right? My principles are related to my own experiences and understandings. «I do what I think is right» is a statement that has to do with the improvement of our society; it expresses the belief that someway some problems can be diminished, or even solved. There is no universal knowledge; thus «what I think is right» is a result of my own thoughts on the matter. Why do you think your contribution has a global impact and is not just another drop in the ocean? That is such a difficult question! Since we are young students, coming from different backgrounds and with unique ideologies, our project fuses in a unique way. We are not spreading the classic top-down message that global warming is a bad problem which you have to wipe out; we want to show ways how to
act in daily life. We do not want to force anybody; we are only showing what nature is, what we are about to destroy. Many people know about the problematic, now they have to build a bridge between knowledge and action! Now, imagine that you have one million dollars to invest in your cause. What would you do first? Firstly, I would finance our first careAct project, as we are now still looking for funds and sponsors. Secondly, I would wish to build up a long term professional structure as Euforia, which would allow us to grow steadily and invest in people that care. With a common belief, I really believe that we can establish a difference.
imp!act focus
Imp!anecdotes Après 5 jours passés à Genève à discuter, créer, entreprendre et pratiquer, vous croyez tout savoir sur euforia ou sur imp!act, cette association et ce projet qui se refusent les majuscules. Détrompez-vous, en voici la preuve. Texte et photo: Joëlle Misson
2010, l’association euforia a une vision. Mais pour la mettre en oeuvre, pour trouver la méthode, elle engage un trio de choc: un brésilien, un français et une suédoise. Ces trois «facilitateurs» créent des évènements et ont tous une expérience commune: le programme impacto, qui a lieu au Brésil. Ils organisent alors ensemble à Genève, la même année, Elays, qui offre une expérience similaire au parcours 1 d’imp!act 2011. Au Brésil, la rencontre est plus longue, avec un processus un peu différent mais sur le même principe: développer ses idées mais surtout, s’engager personnellement et entreprendre. Sans avoir connaissance de cet événement innovateur, source du projet au Brésil, le groupe euforia choisit le nom «imp!act» pour son programme 2011. Périlleuse préparation Le projet émerge en octobre 2010. Mais au sein d’une équipe absorbée par l’administration, les rendezvous et les discussions, les neurones peuvent parfois sauter. Rien de pire pour une équipe responsable de communication, que de ne pas se comprendre! Laurence et Sylvain en font les frais alors qu’ils se sont donné rendez-vous à Lausanne.
Pendant que Laurence et sa collègue se trouvent dans le train en direction de la cité olympique, Sylvain, lui, est sagement installé dans les bureaux d›euforia... à Genève. Heureusement, les autres aspects de la campagne ont été gérés avec plus de sérieux. Méritant bien récompense, les staffs se paient une petite virée en Italie, mais uniquement pour récupérer le matériel commandé à l’organisation Tessuto Sociale. Mais la douane est une autre affaire; difficile de cacher le matériel et si la voiture est stoppée, c’est le porte-monnaie qui y passe! «On a dû faire le sourire le plus bimbo possible, en espérant qu’en étant un peu séductrices, les douaniers nous laisseraient passer». Car passer tout l’après-midi à discuter n’est pas ce qu’elles veulent! A croire que les douaniers non plus puisqu’elles ont franchi sans encombres la frontière. Jour J Les participants reçoivent un welcome bag contenant quelques éléments utiles tels que du papier ou des stylos, mais aussi certaines choses très étranges, à l’image de cette inutile petite pièce de plastique. A ce propos, Laurence «doute toujours
que Sylvain en connaisse l’utilité». Parmi les autres objets, les participants échappent, faute de fournisseur, aux préservatifs. «Sarah, toujours pleine d’imagination, nous a expliqué qu’en Suède, on en mettait souvent dans les sacs d’accueil». Cette coutume n’a malheureusement pas fait son chemin jusqu’à nous, puisqu’aucune organisation n’était à même de fournir le nombre de préservatifs nécessaires. L’aspect nourriture n’a pas été plus facile à gérer. Entre les négociations de prix ou la charte éthique d’euforia, le staff d’imp!act a eu droit à de charmantes propositions, notamment celle d’un traiteur, qui – sachant qu’on parlait bien de 200 jeunes et non de fins gourmets – a quand même réussi à proposer «des omelettes aux truffes». Au final, imp!act c’est bien plus que 5 jours dans la cité de Calvin, non?
info Staffs: 15 Participants: 200 Mois de préparations: 12 Heures de discussions: env. 24 Intervenants: 40 Litres de cafés par jour: env. 20 Assiettes servies: env. 500
mP3 exPeriment
«Do not forget to smile» A very uncommon situation in the middle of the University of Geneva: 150 people lying on the floor, while struggling with their legs like up-side down bucks before running down the streets of Geneva. That’s what they call an experiment today. Text: Luzia Tschirky
years ago»
Their voices barely can be overheard. But no one seems to care in Geneva. Emad, another pedestrian who just passed the scene, comments: «Personally, I prefer people who are screaming loud for the changes they want within their society and don’t just cry alone at home where no one can hear them.» The question of how the youngsters were able to understand the instructions of the podcast with such a background noise is left open. But not all of them were screaming at the top of their voices. Lazlo remained silent. «Without having an MP3 player I feel like the black sheep among this crowd of extroverted people.» He ducked more into his winter jacket while glancing at the mass around him. The imp!act team has been aware of the exclusion of people not having a requested device. «We tried to bring as much headphones with us as possible», Alex explains.
They do not hesitate a second or two, but just do as they are told to. The city itself seems to be open for an action like this and used to see people on the street gathering attention for unconventional behaviour. A man walking by would like to know for which aim this group is demonstrating. Alex, the producer, explains one of their goals. «We thought of a creative way of guiding the participants from the University to the location where the program of the last evening has been held.» The unconventional idea found general approval of the participants.
To keep in mind After half an hour the podcast comes to an end and the group has arrived at a restaurant. On some faces is a relieved impression visible while the voices come to silence. A smiling face in the crowd says: «I have no problems screaming out on the street and running somewhere. I do not feel embarrassed easily.» In front of the building the people are forming a queue. Metaphorically speaking: they stand one behind the other. «It was worth the effort», Alex summarizes the experiment. The podcast reminds us: «Do not forget to smile.»
Behaving like remote-controlled robots: The secret behind this behaviour is quickly revealed. An audio record has been produced in which people receive tasks to fulfil by a voice interrupting the music and giving commands like: «Run to the children’s playground and behave like ten years ago.» The producer of the MP3 says: «We wanted to broaden people’s mind and try out something new.» He has spent a lot of time cutting and preparing the music for the podcast. Open Geneva The participants obviously do not have any problems at all to fulfill the given tasks. No compunction for running down the road or screaming as loud as possible in a public place.
«Behave like ten
imPressum Tink.ch Sandstrasse 5 3302 Moosseedorf Tel +41 31 850 10 91 info@tink.ch www.tink.ch Reporters Eva Hirschi (direction) Juliette Ivanez (direction) André Müller Clara Skupien Joëlle Misson Laura Crivelli Louise Hauptmann Luzia Tschirky Mariam Mussa Natalia Luque Nicolas Vodoz Selver Kabacalman Valentin Berclaz Photographers Janosch Szabo Joëlle Misson Louise Hauptmann Proof-reader Grégory Vincke Gianluca Comazzi Layouter Janosch Szabo Printing Codap rue Liotard 5 1202 Genève www.codap.org Edition number 31 30 October 2011 Print run 200 copies Partner The Printing is provided by Codap
read more For more articles about imp!act 2011 check out: www.tink.ch/impact2011
imp!act workshoPs
Youth in Action
Human rights
Youth in action is a program for young people ran and subsidized by the European Union. Switzerland has joined it early this year. Its aim is to develop the sense of solidarity and tolerance by organising various activities such as volunteering internships abroad, youth parliaments and many more. These activities are open for young people from all over the European Union as well as to Swiss people who are aged between 13 and 30. In their workshop at imp!act, they discussed the particularity of this association, which is the numerous ways you can get involved in it; there are programs which fit nearly every expectations and age, depending on how much you want to commit.
In the workshop Amnesty International has held at imp!act, they reminded their way of acting, which is writing letters. This allows both flexibility and efficience. As hundreds write to defend a case, revendications are agreed by 3 out of four cases. At the workshop the participants raised a discussion on a critic which is often made against this organisation: They can’t work on every problem so they have to pick one. In other terms, they have to choose who they are going to help and who they are going to leave alone. This is the very hard truth for every NGO: Even though they commit a lot, one organisation cannot save the whole world. Texts and Picture: Louise Hauptmann
Gestion du temps
Stratégie d'action
Mondopoly et Ethnopoly ont pour objectif de favoriser la rencontre de personnes d’horizons culturels divers en offrant meetings et opportunités d’apprentissage pour tous. Les deux organisations présentaient un workshop dont le but était d’apprendre à gérer un projet tout en respectant des contraintes de temps. Les participants ont eu l’occasion de présenter leur analyse d’un problème donné, avec l’objectif de dégager en un temps de préparation restreint une ébauche de projet pouvant y répondre. L’enjeu était donc de miser sur l’interaction entre les participants, en intégrant une mise en pratique des concepts présentés. Textes: Valentin Berclaz
Présenté par l’association Codap, cet atelier a su offrir d’importantes ressources en matière de création de projet, en dépit d’un contenu majoritairement théorique. Au programme, conseils et techniques de gestion afin de définir la teneur d’un projet ou encore de vérifier sa cohérence; et le lien est fait avec les services de consulting offerts par Codap en la matière. L’organisation s’est en effet spécialisée dans ce domaine et offre également des conseils en formation de projet, tout en assurant un suivi régulier de ses collaborateurs. Globalement, sa ligne de conduite reste de sensibiliser le public en matière de droits fondamentaux.
imp!act ProJects
Eleven ways to act After four days of brainstorming, the 50 changemakers are about to step into action. On Saturday, they presented eleven outlines in front of a jury of experts; in a further step, euforia will provide a 10’000CHF fund which will be distributed among those projects which promise to have the greatest impact. Texts and Illustration: Nicolas Vodoz, Luzia Tschirky, Juliette Ivanez
meetinG (in)eQualitY
Goals: introducing an interactive pro schools to promote tolerance and in would have an impact on families throu + Tackle a true issue is Switzerland – Very hard to enter school programs
Changemakers: Natalia, Chiara and L
test it solve it Goals: empowering rural youth in developing countries with innovation. It would provide people with the needed tools such as computers and cellphones. They would be reached through already existing NGOs and be linked thogether through a website. + Computer and cellphones are two important ways to sustain development – Difficulties to reach the most potential and most needed people Changemakers: Alessandra, Ricardo, Nandan, Björn and Vivanne
welcome home develocal Goals: Setting an online network to share knowledge and experiences for sustainableproject launchers. It would targeti exchange students between Swiss Universities and developing countries who know the local context. An advice board and a jury would be set to select workable projects and attribute them microcredits raised from sponsors and partners. + Use of universities knowledges and structures – Already existing microcredit businesses Changemakers: Ana, Joel, John and Tobias
Goals: Creating a shelter for homeless people and helping them to return to a better life. It would provide them with work opportunities and give them assistance to reintegrate society. + Focus on a local problem – Project size Changemakers: Loïc, Robert, Smail and Aleena
suPerhero traininG Goals: Organizing summer camps to uncover potential superheroes. Participants would be able to find out their strengths and skills that would then be applied to daily life. It differs itself from similar projects by focusing on a peer-to-peer and a playful approach. + Title, peer-to-peer methods – Already existing similar training camps Changemakers: Lena, Jennifer, Julian, Marie, Alicia and Dominique
dinner surfinG
ogram in Swiss nterculturality. It ugh the children.
Laura
Goals: creating an online network that allows people to find a mate to dine with. People can register online and look for someone offering a dinner in their city.
de-construction
+ A very easy tool to use – Sounds more like fun than a solution to tackle real social problems Changemakers: Jesse and Ken
Goals: breaking down walls within society to include people staying outside of the big mass. Prejudices should vanish by informing people about the different existing cultures. An online platform collects the different informations. + Shares informations about minorities on a single platform – Doesn’t tell how to reach deeply narrow-minded people Changemakers: Maiam, Marina and Florent
interact Goals: Promoting projects to improve intercultural exchanges in remote villages. It would involve all social groups and use already existing associations to build dialogue. Events like «World cafés» with different dishes would be organized to celebrate multiculturalism. + Fills a real need in Switzerland, exportable model – Difficulties to measure attitudes and results Changemakers: Elianna, Aurélia, Vincent and Anouck
+ Original way to promote social exchanges – Unclear needs
Goals: Building an online platform to find socially and environmentally responsible career opportunities. It would rate companies on ethical and sustainable criterias. + Filling a real need in the job search business – Difficulties to find reliable indicators to make ratings Changemakers: Anna, Bettina and Jonathan
urban mediart Goals: Changing the perception of graffiti in Geneva from insecurity feeling to art enlightment. Promoting and encouraging colorful and beautiful pieces on graffiti-authorized walls. Painted messages like «Ride your bike to work», for example, would lead to social reconciliation and reunite younger and older people.
reJob.orG
YounG
movement “exPress Yourself”
Goals: Promoting youth talent in all kinds of art. It would empower young artists, discover new forms of art and give talented people a mean to share their passion with the public. It could easily be launched in other cities. + Great potential in multicultural Geneva – The needs are not clearly defined Changemakers: Fitore, Esther, Lyle, Deborah and Pavel
Changemakers: Iulia, Michèle, Estelle and Vlad
Portraits
Committed youth Ils viennent de toute l’Europe avec dans leurs bagages milles idées et l’envie de les partager. Certains ont déjà longuement pensé leur projet à naître et n’ont besoin que d’un coup de pouce pour démarrer; d’autres sont armés d’une volonté de fer et souhaitent s’engager dans une cause qui leur correspond. Textes: Laura Crivelli, Selver Kabacalman, Eva Hirschi I Photos: Janosch Szabo
Giulio Cervone, di Gaeta, Italia, 25 anni, laureato in economia, Partecipa ai workshops di CODAP e di Ashoka. Giulio lavora ora alla Consip (una società per azioni del Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze), nel settore del «Green Public Procurement». Giulio, di tipo imprenditoriale, è venuto cercare nuove idee a imp!act e scoprire le esperienze di altri giovani nel campo della sostenibilità, la sua passione. «Qui si parla di esperienze concrete. C’è dinamismo, voglia di fare. Non sono chiacchiere.» Inoltre, l’evento permette di darsi consigli tra giovani su vari progetti e di conoscere diverse organizzazioni. Il suo consiglio; «Non esitare a restringere lo scopo delle tue iniziative, cosi becchi il pubblico giusto!
Anna, from Zurich, Switzerland, 20 years old, student in the humanities, participant in the Develocal project group. She is here to create some kind of reflection and to think about what should change: «with imp!act, you can build the first step of a project». For Anna, development is an interesting subject to be commited to and that is the main reason why she chose to work with the Develocal group. Its purpose is to support local projects in the Third World through a network in which local students could suggest their solutions. According to her, «it is better to let the people who know the culture of the country resolve their problems». She confessed that even if finding investors will be hard task, she strongly believes that this project is definitely feasible.
Björn Messerli, aus Bern, Schweiz, 24 Jahre, Mathematik-Student, Projektmitglied von Test it Solve it. Bereits mit einer Idee im Kopf meldete sich Björn Messerli bei imp!act an. Während den fünf Tagen sei er zwar «auf einen anderen Wagen gesprungen» und arbeitete in der Projektgruppe «Test it Solve it» mit, doch seinen Plan einer Plattform, die das gemeinschaftliche Lernen fördern solle, will der Nachhilfelehrer später trotzdem noch umsetzen. imp!act sieht er als vielversprechenden Startschuss, er bleibt jedoch bodenständig: «Hier entstehen viele tolle Ideen, es wird allerdings nicht so sehr auf das Realisierungspotential geachtet.» Wichtig für ihn war das Treffen mit den Experten um externe Beurteilungen zu erhalten. «Von den elf hier gestarteten Projekten», schätzt Björn, «werden in einem Jahr wohl nur noch zwei bis drei bestehen.»
imp!act backGround
Zwischen Wert und Wirtschaft Imp!act will eine neue Generation von sozialen Unternehmern in die Welt hinaus schicken. Doch was sind Social Entrepreneurs eigentlich? Klar ist: Sie füllen eine Lücke zwischen der Arbeit von Staat und Wirtschaft – man muss allerdings aufpassen, dass die Erwartungen an Sozialunternehmer nicht in den Himmel schiessen. Text: André Müller I Bild: Joëlle Misson
Die Welt wird immer reicher. Kühlschränke, Computer oder Smartphones: Der Kapitalismus und mit ihm der technische Fortschritt vereinfachen unseren Alltag. In einigen Bereichen ist der Markt jedoch nicht so innovativ, wie es die ökonomische Theorie verspricht. Jeronimo Calderon, der Gründer von Euforia, bringt es auf den Punkt: «Mittlerweile sollte jedem klar sein, dass der Markt keine optimale Lösung bietet, die klassische Theorie nicht stimmt.» Insbesondere im Sozial- und Umweltbereich haben es konventionelle Unternehmen nicht geschafft, die drängenden Probleme zu lösen: Umweltverschmutzung, Einkommensungleichheit, Armut. Zwar ist auch der Staat auf diesen Gebieten aktiv, von seinem Aufbau her ist er aber nicht geeignet, innovative Lösungen zu finden. Mehr als Shareholder Value Was unterscheidet Sozialunternehmer von ihren Kollegen? Beide leben schliesslich davon, mit innovativen Ideen ein Problem zu lösen. Während allerdings konventionelle Firmen nur ihren Aktionären (Shareholders) Rechenschaft ablegen müssen, verpflichten sich Social Entrepreneurs der gesamten Gesellschaft gegenüber. Ihr Geschäftsmodell basiert nämlich auf ethischen Werten, die von der Gesellschaft, in der sie wirtschaften, geteilt werden müssen. Sozialunternehmer haben nicht nur andere Ziele als «normale» Unternehmer, sie haben auch mit anderen Problemen zu kämpfen. Zum
einen ist es schwieriger, den Erfolg ihrer Projekte zu messen. Der allfällige Gewinn des Unternehmens sagt nämlich nichts über seine sozialen Errungenschaften aus. Doch auch Messgrössen wie der «Social Return of Investment» oder «Sozialdividende» können den Nutzen eines Sozialunternehmens nur unvollständig ausdrücken. «Man muss sich endlich von der Illusion lösen, dass gesellschaftlicher Nutzen quantifizierbar ist», meint denn auch Calderon. Es gilt also, auch qualitative Methoden wie Befragungen und Feedbacks zu verwenden, um den Erfolg eines Sozialunternehmens zu messen. Feigenblatt der Firmen? Social Entrepreneurs müssen sich ferner davor schützen, von Staaten und Unternehmen instrumentalisiert zu werden. Firmen, die nicht nachhaltig arbeiten, können eine Partnerschaft mit Sozialunternehmen ansonsten ausnutzen, um sich
ein grünes und soziales Mäntelchen umzulegen. «Die Finanzierung bleibt eine Gratwanderung», gibt Calderon denn auch zu. Euforia selbst beginnt, eigene Dienstleistungen zu verkaufen, um die Finanzierung nachhaltig zu sichern und die Gelder von Stiftungen für andere Projekte freizuhalten. Bei jeder Kooperation muss man aber aufs Neue entscheiden, ob sie mit den eigenen, hohen ethischen Standards vereinbar ist. Social Entrepreneurs tragen durch ihre Innovationskraft zu einer sozialeren und ökologischeren Welt bei. Gleichzeitig darf man nicht zu viel von ihnen erwarten. So warnt auch Jeronimo Calderon: «Momentan gibt es einen grossen Hype um Social Entrepreneurs, ähnlich wie vor einiger Zeit um Mikrokredite. Auch dort musste man aber bald erkennen, dass sich die komplexen Probleme der Welt nicht mit einer einzelnen tollen Idee lösen lassen.»
nGo
citations «On a eu aussi ces talkie-walkies... et c'était un peu... quel bouton il faut presser pour parler?» Alexander Grif
«Attends, je vais faire un cocktail avec des pilules pour les vigiles; ils vont dormir encore trois heures.» Sylvain Nicolier
«Le technicien de l'Uni s'appelle Gesus. Alors chaque fois je disais ‹J'ai un rendez-vous avec Gesus›.» Alexander Grif
«Je peux tout faire, sauf une chose: rien.»
Mach mit Tu veux t’engager concrètement pour une cause qui t’intéresse mais tu ne sais pas encore où? L’équipe de Tink.ch a sélectionné pour toi trois ONG dans différents secteurs pour proposer un aperçu de ce qui existe en Suisse. Textes: Selver Kabacalman et Clara Skupien
S'engager pour la paix 1. Si tu veux travailler pour la paix dans le monde entier, en agissant au niveau local, le Service Civil International t’offre de nombreuses possibilités d’agir concrètement. Pour eux, changer le monde n’est pas utopique, si l’on agit localement et de manière efficace. Comment ça marche? Tu peux, par exemple, t’inscrire à un camp d'été d’une durée pouvant varier d’une semaine à deux mois, en Suisse ou à l’étranger. Les participants aident à développer des projets environnementaux, sociaux ou politiques, dans le but d’un échange inter-culturel favorisant la paix. Pour te donner une idée de leur état d’esprit, voici leur slogan (proverbe africain): «If you think you are too small to make a difference, try to sleep in a closed room with a mosquito».
Aussenpolitik diskutieren 2. Die Schweizer Politik interessiert dich? Insbesondere die Aussenpolitik? Dann ist foraus genau das Richtige für dich! In Gruppen analysierst du die Schweizerische Auslandpolitik und erarbeitest konstruktive Ansätze. Die Organisation ist in zehn landesweite thematische Arbeitsgruppen gegliedert, in welchen jeder seine Ideen einbringen und konkret handeln kann. Ziel der foraus-Mitglieder ist es, ihre Meinung publik zu machen, dies unter Anderem auch durch Parlamentarier. Dieses nationale Forum wurde von Studenten ins Leben gerufen. Zurzeit sind mehr als 300 Teilnehmer im Netzwerk von Foraus aktiv.
No life without water 3. Did you know that 7,8 billion people in the world didn’t have an access to clean drinking water? This is especially true in regions such as Africa, South America and Asia. You can act to try and change this at your level. For example, by being aware of these facts, and acting in consequence – by choosing what you buy for instance – you make people around you more sensitive to that problem. This is what matters for Viva con Agua! They act at a local level in Europe through festivals, flea markets, water days, and so on. At the moment, they are also developing projects in Guatemala and Mozambique.
Luzia Tschirky
Idee: Natalia Luque I Photo: Janosch Szabo
›
imp!act boîte à outils Colle Équipe soudée: pour, ensemble, construire un projet solide
Ecran L’union fait la force; together is better!
Lunettes Vision éclairée: une aide pour aborder toutes les perspectives de manière perspicace
Smiley De la motivation: nécessaire pour se surpasser et atteindre ses objectifs
Agenda L’organisation: clé d’un travail efficace
Ampoule Un paquet d’imagination: afin de rendre le projet innovant et créatif
Tasse de café L’énergie: à la source de l’efficacité
Montre Un bon timing: pour assurer l’avancement du travail
Bloc-notes et stylo Esprit d’initiative: c’est avancer, essayer sans être sûr de savoir où l’on va
finale
«Nothing happens out of nothing» Steven Eichenberger, 25 years old and from Olten, is the Managing Director of euforia. With Tink.ch he talked about the new CHANGEmakers Network and the role of euforia as a start support and project launcher. Interview: Eva Hirschi I Photo: Janosch Szabo
At imp!act you are launching the new CHANGEmakers network. Can you describe in a few words what this is all about? Basically, it’s all about trying to keep up the spirit of imp!act. We want to make sure that people get support to realize their projects on a long term. Like this, they should have the possibility to get support from experts, they can show their projects to a community and find other participants to develop their ideas together with them. imp!act is a great project, but the problem is that the people will go back to their usual environment where they will have very little time and they will be confronted to the same cynics. There always is a reason why they didn’t really get engaged with their plans until now, and we’d like to give them a continuing support and some motivation so they can really start working on their ideas. We also hope that people who participated this year at imp!act will help us to continue this project. How do you choose the projects you want to support with euforia? Do you have any guidelines? We just want people to be creative, so we keep it open. There are so many foundations and it is not our main goal to hand out money and participate in financing a long term project, but we would like to give a «petit coup de pouce», a start-up capital to get good projects running. We believe that nothing happens out of nothing. The beginning is always hard, you always need some outside support and that is where we see ourselves coming in. We would like
people to show us how their projects can become sustainable. What is going to happen with the projects from the participants from imp!act? For the participants of imp!act we will have follow-up events in different Swiss cities where people can meet up in a bar for a beer and talk about how they have become involved and where the difficulties are. We also have the internet platform that we launched during the imp!act event. There, people can create a profile, pitch their project, write comments, get expert advice or ask questions in a forum. Basically, it’s about trying to give people the opportunity to find recognition for the work they do. We are going to follow the projects launched by imp!act and we believe that the structures provided by the CHANGEmakers network allow people to get engaged on a long term basis. The role of euforia is to get those people started, to show them that their ideas are realizable and to help them launch their project. You do what you can. We don’t want to point with the finger at you. The main thing is not the control and not the money. The main thing is to show them the opportunities.