From 22 to 24 November, more than 30 professionals working in the fields of charity and social change gathered at Rhodes House in Oxford, to learn from each other and dive deep into the issues of social change through the idea of catabolizing an ecosystem. Representing a range of organisations with a geographical reach that covered Brazil, the USA, Ghana, Kenya and Australia in addition to Europe, participants had the opportunity to share examples and exchange experiences. Among the participants was the CForC, which was represented by the coordinator of Argyro Barata.

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The issues discussed were as follows:

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- What distinguishes and differentiates ecosystems from other collaborative approaches, such as communities and networks? Here you will find an interesting article explaining the term from the MIT D-Lab, which was shared with participants in preparation for the meeting.

- How can we make an ecosystem thrive? Here is an excellent example from Brazil, presented at the meeting

- What are the key roles within an ecosystem that we can support, cultivate? Here the very interesting contribution of Darius Pollock from iac, who mediated for the participation of CForC in the meeting.

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Within the framework of investigating these questions and at the end of the process of reflection on the ecosystem at work and the practices applied by each organization, the participants were able to turn learning into action, where they outlined initial ideas to strategically “drill” their ecosystem, pushing it in a more targeted direction in the future. It was announced that in March 2024 there will be an open call for funding to implement some of the ideas that have been formulated. The CForC will monitor developments and the prospects for the synthesis and financing of a specific project to catalyze the Greek socio-cultural ecosystem.

(PhotoCredits: Lee Atherton)

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