Leaders of Change: Social entrepreneurship and the creation of ecologies of solutions

Abstract

The line of inquiry on evolutionary learning communities (ELCs) to promote evolutionary development (ED) seeks to identify the conditions by which people can self-organize to learn, design and implement actions that will improve their quality of life and their socio-ecological milieu. In the Fall of 2007, the Universal Forum of Cultures took place in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. This UNESCO sponsored world event offered an opportunity to implement an evolutionary learning community with local citizens to bridge the knowledge of the Forum with the sustainable development needs of the local community. Over two hundred citizens responded to the call to join the “Leaders of Change” initiative. The ELC was conceived as a group of potential social entrepreneurs who came together to learn, identify possibilities, and support each other in the development of projects to translate their vision into action. This article reports on the design, process, and outcomes of the 8 month action-research project as well as the outcomes, reflections from the experience and implications for future research.