Alfonso Romo - Mexico

Global Catalyst

(Host of the 2015 Be The Change Conference)

Story told by David Wygant

Taking the first step is famously the most difficult part of any journey.  However, by taking the first step, you begin to move in a specific direction.  This movement is critical to success and to reaching your destination.  Imagine a ship dead in the water.  You can move the rudder all you want, but until the ship moves you’re not going anywhere.  The same principle applies to setting and realizing a vision.  Where there is movement a “success friendly” force is created.   

Also key to realizing your vision is persistence.  Persistence is the combination of conviction or passion for the cause (vision), and faith that a successful outcome is assured if only you don’t quit

So vision, taking the first step, and persistence enable “challenge conquering.”  When I asked Alfonso what his biggest Design for Change (DFC) challenge was, and how he overcame it, his response was definite.

“One of the biggest challenges I faced was to convince donors and allies that something that could be explained in four words could be so powerful and capable to generate a social change movement.  I overcome it with conviction and hard work and a fair amount of luck. Now that we can show more than 15,000 stories of change is different.”

In the discussion, it was clear that Alfonso’s energy went a long way toward “taking the first step,” but his persistence brought the success.  Listen for it in what he said.

“Even in the face of temporary setbacks and micro-failures, we remained determined in our desire to share with everyone.”

“Also, it is been very challenging trying to reach all the schools in Mexico that is something we are still working on. We believe that we can overcome this challenge by establishing strong collaborative relations with the private, public and civil sector, working with other organizations that from all sectors, share our passion about education and the belief that this is the way we can change Mexico… and the world.”

If passion is the sum of vision, energy, and conviction, then Alfonso certainly is a passionate man.  He and his team have had great success in spreading the DFC contagion in Mexico.  His passion has been aimed at finding financial support too.

I asked Alfonso how they’ve raised the needed funds.  What has worked?

“We mainly receive donations from corporate foundations and corporations. Networking is very important, sharing what we do every time we have the opportunity, conferences, and business meetings, being willing to present the project, share the stories and evidence of the impact.” 

Persistence and patience are needed.”

While he didn’t say so specifically, there is little doubt Alfonso has faith in a successful outcome.  He is a true believer!  He’s also willing to work very hard.  To do what it takes.  He and his team are dedicated.

“Stubbornness, you have to be very dedicated and push and push. You have to be willing to put not only strategy and intelligence but a lot of hours behind it to make it happen.”

Have you heard the phrase, “Many hands make light work?”  Alfonso is not alone, and he relies on his team, and they him.  He reaches out and recruits others to help too. 

“Allies, we have to be able to align objectives and see in what we are the same and forget about small difference. You have to let go of pride and put the end result and objective of the project before anything else.”

Ultimately, our conversation drifts back to why.  Why spend so much time and energy?   Alfonso is quick to give inspiring examples. 

Talking to the teachers in schools provides instant feedback:  

“The most inspiring moments for the team are those that come from talking with the teachers leading “Design for Change” in their schools.” 

“Reading those emails or receiving those calls where teachers share their experiences, challenges and above of all, the effort, work and commitment they have to facilitate a meaningful experience for their students.  Those stories are always inspiring for all of us!” 

Sometimes, incredibly inspiring moments grow out of one specific situation.  A single little girl who is a true Superhero can shine as bright as a sun.  

“A little girl form a rural school called our offices crying, we didn’t know what was happening, so we picked up the phone to ask her what was wrong, she told us that none of the teachers or her peers wanted to do DFC but that she really wanted to participated and asked/begged to let her do it by herself, of course we let her, next year the full groups from that school participated thanks to the courage and drive of this little girl… Goes to show, we only need one really driven person…

What’s next?  I asked him what he is most looking forward to in the future.  His answer was in two parts, beginning with the 2015 Be The Change (BTC) Conference.

“In the near future, I a looking forward hosting the “Be the Change Celebration” in Mexico. We are working on the details and very soon we will let you know more about the experience we are building.”

For now, Alfonso and his team are asking that we mark our calendars on September 25-26, 2015 for the BTC Conference.  Following the Conference on September 27-28 the Partners meeting will be held.  The host city will be beautiful Monterrey.

The second part is really where he began.  With Alfonso’s customary vision he sees the DFC journey continuing.  He has big plans and larger goals!

“I am also looking forward to increase the number of projects and schools that participate in  “Diseña el Cambio Mexico”. We will do it with the collaboration of strategic allies and by implementing a communication strategy that will allow us to share the amazing stories of our students and teachers, inspiring more Mexicans to be part of this movement.” 

BIO

Alfonso was born in Monterrey, a city in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon in Mexico.  He still lives in Monterrey.  He attended the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (better know as Tec de Monterrey) graduating with a degree in Agricultural Engineering.  After graduating, he founded EducarUno.  He has been President and CEO since the beginning.  He has travelled extensively.  He has journeyed to Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malasia, Tailandia, Macedonia, and several destinations in Europe.  He has been the recipient of a number of highly prestigious awards including the Rockefeller Award Youth Innovator; Index: Design to Improve Life; Leaders in Action (CLASE); Universidad del Valle de México on Social Development.  

Alfonso attended the 2012 and 2014 Be The Change Conferences in Ahmedabad, India. 

Nandini Sood - India

Global Catalyst

Story told by David Wygant

Vision is the ability to think about and plan the future with imagination and wisdom.  It does several important things for us as individuals and for the organizations we belong to.  It points a direction and gives us a push to begin moving. Within an organization it unites everyone’s efforts.  

Here’s Nandini’s reply when I asked her about the Design for Change (DFC) India vision:

“The plan is to scale the DFC Movement in India and work with the institutional partners. The end goal is to develop a bouquet of ‘design thinking’ products and services, and transit DFC India into a sustainable social enterprise.”

She related a plan to me that calls for the creation of a range of design thinking products and services. This effort is well underway.  For example, the Design Thinking Guide (DTG) is currently in the pilot stage in the eighth grades of 60 schools across India. 

The DTG nurtures the natural ability of children and students to imagine.  Using the FEEL-IMAGINE-DO-SHARE framework, it equips them with the tools they will use over their lifetimes to shape a better world.  It will keep alive and grow what we know is true.  Children are dreamers, and they have the vision to see the future completed in advance. 

After the pilot stage, the plan is to offer the DTG to schools across the country.  The final stage will be to adapt and implement the DTG across all grade and age levels. 

When viewed positively, and used properly, mistakes made can lead to lessons learned, and an increase in energy pushing any effort forward.  Nandini quickly identified the single most important lesson.

“The single most important lesson learned has been persistence; to BELIEVE in the cause of DFC and to not give up despite multiple challenges.  YES WE CAN!!”

Nandini’s persistence includes obstinate continuance, or, to always move forward in spite of difficulty and challenge.  She clearly identified the largest challenge that DFC India faces. 

“Funding! Funding! Funding! This has been the biggest challenge yet!  The only way to overcome it is to keep making the pitches and get better at it.  Also important is to seek feedback, refine one’s communication, and ensure that it is more outside in, more user centered.”  

So, I asked her what DFC India has done to raise funds.  What’s worked?  Nandini described fundraising efforts in three categories: Domestic funding organizations, corporate sponsors and high net worth individuals.  The greatest success has been with the second two.  Recently, out of the second category, a three year sponsorship connection was made with an Indian corporation called Parle G.  They are the world’s largest selling brand of biscuits and are a good example of a situation where the vision and mission of the brand aligned well with DFC.  Out of the third category, a number of wealthy individuals have been generous with their resources.  

The combination of vision, lessons learned and persistence often leads to inspiring results.  It did for DFC India in 2014.  There is evidence.  What do you get when you gather 500 students from 85 plus schools?  In Nandini’s own words, 

“Over the last year the most inspiring moment was to see the auditorium teeming over at the I CAN Awards 2014! Over 500 students and teachers joined us. Some of the children had travelled out of their remote villages for the very first time to come to Ahmedabad to be acknowledged and facilitated as Superheroes of CHANGE!”

This year the combination of vision, lessons learned, and persistence was celebrated at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI).  1992 projects were submitted from across India representing the largest number received since the beginning of the DFC movement in 2009.  In the first year under Nandini’s leadership DFC India submissions were more than double the previous highest number.  100 schools were invited to the I CAN Awards with over 85 attending.

I asked Nandini what her most personally inspiring moment was.  She recalled a telephone call she received.

“On September 5^th which is celebrated as Teacher’s day in India, I received a call from a very enthusiastic teacher who was participating in the DFC I CAN School Challenge. She brought me to tears with her generous praise of the movement and thanked me profusely for helping her recognize the potential of her students.”

Yes, it was quite a year for Nandini and DFC Team India.  Job well done!  What’s next?  The upward spiral continues.  The vision is still there.  Lessons will continue to be learned, and persistence will build more success.

BIO INFORMATION

Nandini was born in Calcutta in the eastern part of India.  Currently, she lives outside of New Delhi in the suburb of Gurgaon. 

She is a communication designer and graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad.

Early in her career, Nandini was in advertising selling detergent and cookies.  Before long, she heard the call from education.  She answered that call and has been in education for sixteen years.  Nandini has applied her energy and enthusiasm across a wide spectrum of education  segments.  She has designed e-learning for the Test Prep industry, and helped set up and scale an urban K-12 school chain.  She lead the design and development of a “school in a box,” aimed at creating a workable social enterprise model for budget schools to serve the poor in rural India.  More recently, in January 2014, Nandini joined Design for Change to lead the India effort, and is CEO of Design for Change-India.

Doug David - Canada

Global Catalyst

Story told by David Wygant

Author’s Note:  It is always my privilege to write the Global Catalyst stories.  Their stories are always amazing and inspiring.  As Doug tells his story, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it with him. 

We are thankful that our Design for Change (DFC) team is both blessed and challenged by the same things at the same time.  We are thankful because sometimes in life only the challenges come without the answers and blessings.  In our case, all of us on the DFC team are full time teachers.  Finding the amount of time we’d like to dedicate to the effort can be difficult, which is our challenge.  On the other hand, we are also blessed by our full time teaching status.  Through our instruction and example as teachers, we can blend the I CAN spirit and mindset into everything we say and do.  We never lose the opportunity to integrate the “design thinking model” into all of our moments.

At this stage our fundraising is modest, but sufficient.  There is growth one step at a time, and there are blessings to count.  Any money we can raise, or that we receive, we’ve donated back to the local nonprofit organizations to help those in need and to help fund projects.  In our giving, we receive too.  Our school district has given us “release time” so that we can meet and plan as a team.  In all schools, time outside of the classroom is beyond precious.  By spending this time together, our planning is clear and focused, helping us keep forward momentum as a team.  Looking ahead, our goal is to find a way to raise enough funds so that we can bring a small group of people to Mexico for the 2015 Be the Change Conference.

We are a very motivated group.  The importance of educating both the heart and the mind is a key driver for all of us.  The rewards are huge when we see children finding meaning and purpose in their lives.  As they learn to become change makers, we see in all of them the emergence of the connection between life inside school, and life on the outside.  This process is service learning at its best.

Our most inspiring moment as a team was when we had a student showcase of all the I CAN projects designed and implemented by the students. It was in May of 2013 that over 200 Superheroes shared their stories of change.  My most personally inspiring moments occurred when I visited Ahmedabad in 2013.  At the Be the Change Conference that year I met children and adults from all over the world who shared a common inspiration, and were the most inspiring group of individuals I’ve ever met. 

Now, our vision is all forward.  We see future growth in the DFC-Canada program in our school community and beyond.  We’ve recently ordered copies of the 2014 I CAN book and plan to share them across the school district in kits that will include the Feel, Imagine, Do, Share “design thinking model.”  The kits will also include supporting documents that are meant to ignite inquiry, curiosity and design thinking around current issues like poverty, biodiversity, children's rights, and the power of the media.  

Stay tuned.  Canada is working hard, and the best is yet to come!

BIO INFORMATION

Doug heralds from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.  He and his family are currently living in Courtenay, British Columbia.  

In 2013, Doug completed a Masters of Education from Vancouver Island University with a focus on Educational Leadership.  In 1997, he completed his undergraduate work at the University of Victoria with an emphasis in teaching elementary art.

Doug began teaching after he completed his undergraduate degree.  He currently works in an informal leadership role as a District Curriculum Support Teacher in School District #71 Comox Valley.  In 2014, Doug received Canada’s Prime Minister’s Award for Achievement in Teaching.

His travels have taken him to New York City, San Francisco, and to many places in his native Canada.  In 2013, he travelled to Ahmedabad, India to attend the 2013 Be the Change Conference.

Pedro-DFC Spain: DFC Global Catalyst

As told to David Wygant

The Sweet Taste of Success RECIPE

What do creative thinkers do?  They explore and experiment in what they can see around them, and inside the spaces of thought and thinking.  Pedro is such a person.  Supported by his experience managing international social and business projects, he has found a natural outlet for his social innovation passion in his leadership of Design for Change (DFC) - Spain.   Following his education and experience as an industrial engineer and EMBA (Comillas), he has travelled the globe to find programs in strategic intuition (Columbia), social entrepreneurship (Stanford) and NGO leadership (ESADE).

Listen to how Pedro describes his introduction to DFC. 

"It was in the summer of 2010. I was in London when I heard about DFC through the HUB Network.  I contacted my friend Adrian who was leading DFC in the UK.  He put me in touch with Kiran.  In the meantime, unknown to me, he also contacted Kiran about my interest in DFC.  Adrian and I would later have dinner together in Madrid where he confessed that he had told Kiran she could expect great things from DFC Spain.  Now, that was my challenge."

"Now everything in my life seemed to align.  I had recently reflected on and studied social enterprises.  I had developed a passion to become a social entrepreneur.  I had met and experienced Kiran's charisma and dedication.  I had seen the opportunity to improve and reform the education system in Spain.   I was ready to make the leap from an international corporation where I had been an industrial engineer for eight years to the social field that was my passion.”

INGREDIENTS (What to Know)

Listen to your own convictions.  Your experiences over time are the echoes of truth.

Go deeper into an understanding of any problem by listening to the experiences of others.  Don’t solve the wrong problem.

Personalize, collaborate and experiment by adding your voice and energy.  Lead toward meaningful change through student I CAN initiatives.

Align cross sector collaborations.  Through our efforts in Spain, we hope to become a relevant innovator in education.

Offer something different to students and the education program by demonstrating the effectiveness of design thinking through DFC projects.

Put it together.  “Take one idea.  Choose one week and put it into practice.  Then reflect on your action.”

Align participation and cause with efficiency and impact.  Combine the best attributes of business and social organizations.

Match volunteer skills and passions with the needs of the organization.

There is always money for good ideas and committed teams.  In Spain, we have developed a funding method for the implementation of Design For Change projects at schools.  Now we are focused on the core organization "Yo diseño el Cambio" Project.

 COOKING INSTRUCTIONS (How to be a protagonist who changes the world)

First steps to forming a team.  At first I used my own contacts to publicize the initiative, and the HUB Madrid Network to meet new people interested in the project. We formed a couple of teams and collaborated with a couple of design thinking organizations.  Then we decided to launch our own association that is called Yo diseño el cambio.  Today there are six team members in DFC-Spain (Miguel, Mónica, Natxo, Natalia, Nuria y Pedro).  In addition, there are several practitioners who help us with creative processes for schools and teachers, and a few other technology and creative partners.

Spreading the design thinking virus.  Currently, the team is considering a program in which kids would experiment with the basics of social entrepreneurship. Whether this fits into an existing module, or stands alone within a school program, hasn’t been determined.  It might fit differently in different schools and classrooms.  In these schools and classrooms, new tools for teamwork and leadership become available, and empathy and collaboration become natural ingredients in the student learning process.  The students will take their lessons learned outside the school to their communities and their lives.

"Who’s going to tell this?" I needed someone to transform these experiences into amazing stories that could infect others.  Miguel, who is a “Waker of Dreams” was that person.

"Where might we carry out the first pilot project?" Everything looked great. The next step was to build a first prototype.  As the first step, we wanted to take DFC to the schools.  So we created our first prototype for children and teachers.  We knew we needed to give project ownership to the children.  Children should feel complete ownership of the project and the process.  Then they would make the right decisions, and they would freely give the needed energy.  The prototype also needed to help teachers understand how to facilitate this result. 

“We wanted to reach out for best practices.”  What were the other countries doing?  How had they launched their project(s)?  On one side, there was India and Mexico working with very large numbers, and on the other side countries like the UK where the focus was on one or several schools in the beginning.  As it turns out, the major challenges to implementing DFC in schools were similar to those faced by the children in their projects.

"This is not about my idea.”  This is the most common learning in children after their first DFC experience and one of the biggest challenges we (adults) face today.  We are not used to teamwork.

SERVING THE FOOD (Feeding the Many)

Our first experience was in 2011 at The Quercus, a concerted school of Boadilla del Monte in the surroundings of Madrid, where Ana was a teacher in primary and secondary. There we held our first DFC program with almost 50 children.  We launched the project telling the story of Kiran as a mother and how she started Riverside school.

During 2011, we sought to understand the DFC process and what it could bring to the educational world. We set out to perform five pilot projects with different centers of education.  Our aim was to explore how to offer the opportunity to the largest possible number of children in Spain. To do this we explored variety of schools and different levels of support to teachers, and conducted the following experiences:  Three formal schools (Madrid, Tenerife and San Sebastian), Cañada Real (Madrid) with a Social NGO as a Partner, and Casa San Cristobal, partnering with a cultural organization, as an extracurricular activity and facilitated entirely by our DFC Team.

From the beginning, we’ve thought that teacher support in the DFC process was key to success.  So, we’ve designed three key elements:

            A toolkit or teachers guide to facilitate DFC projects.

The I CAN LAB where teachers can explore and experiment one and a half days about how to facilitate projects with children.

A group of experts in the methodology to support schools that request our services.

Empathy (with teachers and children) is the central pillar of a project.   Knowing that both “learning by exploring” and “learning by doing” are critical, we set up laboratory experiences.  We don't teach.   As practitioners we seek to build communities of teachers and sustainably expand the movement at the same time.  In the future, we see an online platform that will support and facilitate the creation of a sustainable DFC Community.

 Coffee and Conversation

There have been many high points during this first stage.  However, the personal growth of the team has been the highest point of the project.  Lessons have sometimes been “hard earned and well learned.” 

What have been the important lessons learned?

The project gives the leading role to children.  They take responsibility for their education.  Their commitment to their community increases.   They become different points from which the “virus” can spread.  They become CONTAGIOUS.   Their teachers are renewed and become refreshed as both the children and teachers gain diverse and multi-cultural viewpoints.    Teachers set the example of how to “BE THE CHANGE.”

Optimism grows and so does the trust children have in themselves and their teams.  Real life problems become solvable.  As they become confident they become CONTAGIOUS.   In turn, they set the example of how to “BE THE CHANGE.”

The quality of the projects, and their sustainability over time, depends on the level of support teachers receive.  I CAN LABs for learning help teachers learn to better facilitate and sustain DFC in schools.   Center stage is visual documentation.  It is key to generating stories and holding attention in an exciting way.  What they can see in their imaginations they can become in real life.

What do we in Spain aspire to do in the future?

We want to be there, and do our share with DFC World, in support of accelerating innovation and quality growth of the world movement.  Create new models that teachers and parents can use to facilitate DFC projects with Kids.  Start doing design thinking in schools on a permanent basis.

Using DFC, create activities between schools that foster learning and collaboration among their students.   Promote and support "DFCx" in Schools.  Through better storytelling (sharing) of DFC projects to increase the amount and quality of SHARING.

Find a way to bring the "I CAN bug" to the employment sector to help create new jobs.  Offer people a process and program whereby they can reinvent themselves.  DFC and the I CAN Lab have inspired us to design a “new Lab” that is aimed at those who are unemployed in Spain, or those who are in a process of professional change.  A safe place where they can find support among their peers, and tools to help them explore new possibilities.  A process that allows them to experience a different way of innovating while pushing them to reinvent themselves professionally.  We want to create opportunities for those who would like to make a difference in their lives.  We’d like to help them build their creative confidence, and come up with new creative strategies.

Story of Deki Choden, DFC Bhutan

The Coveted Global Catalyst Series

The proud DFC Bhutan team. 

It had been a year since I visited The Riverside School, and came back incredibly inspired by the many citizenship programs that its students engaged with. It was on this visit that I got to know about Design for Change. I was awe-amazed when I heard Kiran talk about the grand plan for DFC. It was to run in hundreds of schools. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the size this idea would, and indeed has taken over. And then I heard Riverside’s 8^th grades talk about some stories of change, and I knew it was possible, and my confidence grew. I was hooked!

Charity begins at home. Especially when it is the most obvious choice to begin with. I knew that if these ideas empowered children at Riverside, they were surely to work with my children at Early Learning Centre. The first pilot project was entirely the students’ idea: “ELC says NO to packaged food” Of the many problems that the children brainstormed into existence, TRASH was what bothered them the most, and they were not afraid to give up their favorite snacks to rid our school of it. We went to work immediately by taking three steps. First, we formed the DFC Core Team from among the teaching staff at ELC.  Second, we introduced the idea to my students in grades three-through-six.  Third, we commenced the DFC process with the seventeen students who volunteered to “make a change.” We were fired up, enthused, and challenged to begin the process -- even though we weren’t quite sure how we would take DFC beyond the ELC!  Nonetheless, that first year, 2010, we recruited nine schools.

From then on, there has been no going back. We have worked hard to increase the rate of DFC participation in Bhutan.  Most recently, our count has reached eighteen schools!

Design For Change serves to bring mindfulness to our school and our country by aligning with the pillars of GNH in the most natural way. As a case in point, take our DFC Story of “Saying NO to Packaged Food”. Young children leading the way in refusing packaged food aligns with Good Governance or Good Leadership from a young age; when children replace packaged food with indigenous food alternatives, cultural promotion is ascertained; when children refuse to eat imported packaged food from neighbouring countries, and instead promote their own farmers’ local produce, sustainable economic development is secured.  It goes without saying that environmental conservation was on the minds of the children when they decided to get rid of trash or non-biodegradable waste in the first place!

YAC, or Young Ambassadors of Change, ELC’s rural-urban school partnership was established as an offshoot of Design For Change when our rural schools began to show greater interest in DFC. These partnerships, through the pure and true intention of making a difference, have allowed the ELC to experience the joy of giving, and the satisfaction of creating “magical moments” for others. 

The healing power of these moments means that there is no turning back for us. In addition to myself, there has been only one other adult working on DFC.  Her name is Sylive Wolraven.  As a part-time DFC Coordinator, her efforts with others schools in Bhutan, the Ministry of Education and DFC World Headquarters in Ahmedabad have been key to our success.  Sylive is from the Netherlands and recently returned home.  She came to the ELC in 2011 and taught kindness and compassion as a volunteer.  Now, Ivor Hanson serves as our DFC Coordinator (along with teaching part time).  Ivor comes to us from America.  So there are still two of us working on DFC-Bhutan and we feel overwhelmed on a regular basis, but we know DFC is here to stay.

Overcoming fund raising challenges remains our biggest hurdle to date.  We have a key endorsement from the Ministry of Education, and we receive contributions from various corporations and organizations, as well from personal friends and well-wishers. Nonetheless, these contributions are small. We need to build on our fundraising strategies.  We are confident in our ability to overcome these challenges as we have in the past. We recently secured generous funding from The Bhutan-India Foundation, which will help us attend the 2014 “Be the Change” Conference.

The DFC journey has been a remarkable one. There is such gravity in the program, that good things are bound to follow those who are willing to brave the challenges, even at the face of rejection, confusion and uncertainty. The biggest learning through DFC has been my own ability to say, ‘I can’. After all, how could I stay away from the power of self-belief DFC instills in children? ‘I can’ make the world a better place, just like children in Bhutan, as well as all over the world, are doing today!

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Bio of the Global Catalyst: 

Deki lives in Thimphu, Bhutan where she is Principal and Proprietor of the Early Learning Centre (ELC) which she founded in 1997.  In 2009, 2010, and 2013, the ELC was declared a top ten school in Bhutan. She has received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Arts (TEFL) from Reading University in the United Kingdom.  

Beyond her founding of the ELC, she has demonstrated educational leadership by establishing partnerships with schools in Australia and the United States.  Beginning in 2001, Deki has continued to train and mentor new teachers through programs of her own creation. She has education and child development connections in thirty plus countries as Country Partner with Design for Change.