This session is intended to discuss strategies for fomenting social innovation, both locally and nationally. Finding ways to empower the community and encourage them to lead in the ideation, development, and execution of these projects is critical, yet often complex. The National Innovation Strategy in Paraguay, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program’s Accelerator Lab and the National SDG Commission (Comisión ODS) recently launched a social-inclusion initiative called “Moirū.” This program is focused on Sustainable Development Goal 2—Zero Hunger, and Sustainable Development Goal 5—gender equality. The team utilized techniques to engage the community and empower them to lead in the development of solutions that would further gender equality and reduce hunger. This talk will discuss ways in which the government and organizations can utilize participatory action and equity-centered community design in their programs. Strategies used in Paraguay will be covered, like ‘challenge reframing’, which involves including the community, government, civil society, and private sector to mapping general country challenges related to specific SDGs and ‘solution mapping,’ or identifying and co-creating with women-led community initiatives from across the country. The audience will learn insights from Paraguay’s context and better understand different ways to support community-led social innovation.
These four speakers have all worked closely to design, develop, and implement the Moirū program. More broadly, they have extensive experience in social innovation and inclusion, through their research and community-based work on these topics.
