Plenary Session (L-R): Moderator Sreeni Narayanan (ASSIST), Anna Meloto-Wilk (Human Nature), Chris Manguera (Mynt), Giang Tran (LIN Center for Community Development), and Chris Morris (ADB) discuss inclusive innovations within the prisms of fintech, employment, healthcare, and education.
Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), together with its flagship program .DigiBayanihan (DB), De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde .(DLS-CSB), and the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi), officially held the Innovation for Inclusive Impact (In_Pact) Asia Forum 2018 last April 13, Friday, at the Henry Sy Sr. Building in De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
With the theme of “Designing Tomorrow’s World Today”, the event aims to operationalize the concept of inclusive innovation and become a catalyst for change through digital enablement and creative thinking. The event was attended by over 300 delegates of innovators from local governments, the private sector, civil society groups, academic institutions, and venture philanthropy.
DB Program Manager, Maryanne Mendoza, took part in the breakout session, “Digital First! How does digital technologies keep social innovations ahead?”, wherein she introduced DB and its initiatives, Test Hero and Career Engine, to the audience. A booth was also set up in the venue.
Among the 30 notable global social innovation leaders and speakers include Chris Manguera, CEO of Mynt Philippines; Hon. Monchito Ibrahim, Undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines; Moataz Helmy, Executive Director of Rollo21 and The District Cairo; Naina Batra, Chief Executive Officer of Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN); Chris Morris, Head of NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) and; Giang Tran, Executive Director of LIN Center for Community Development. The speakers took part in plenary discussions that explored various topics, such as inclusive innovation, digitally-enabled economies, and maximizing opportunities for collaboration.
“I think that this event has created a unique change and has made sure that we have [members of] the academe, young people, the private sector, the startup sector, the government, and the civil society organizations. We created a forum where all of these actors can come together [to discuss challenges that will lead to] a healthy design of new solutions.” Sreeni Narayanan, ASSIST Managing Director, shared.
The forum hopes to promote development and to transform society by deepening the people’s understanding of how digital social innovation can lead to digital revolutions.