Introduction

According to Ashoka, a changemaker is “one who desires change in the world, and by gathering knowledge and resources, makes that change happen” (Brennan, 2018, para. 4). Ashoka further believes that everyone has the capacity to be a changemaker. Through priorities such as social entrepreneurship, empathy, young changemaking, and organizing for changemaking, Ashoka supports programs in more than 90 countries with the goal of both building and amplifying the “Everyone a Changemaker” global movement (Ashoka, n.d.).

Ashoka’s (2013) video, The Story of Ashoka, shares the story of Ashoka’s beginnings, priorities, programs, and supports. Take a look!

Changemaker Campus

According to Ashoka U (n.d.), post-secondary institutions need to

shift from traditional (e.g., slow to change, siloed, risk-averse, hierarchical, rigid, bureaucratic) to more innovative and entrepreneurial (e.g., open to change, creative, collaborative, everyone contributing ideas). With increasingly rapid change in higher education, such as the proliferation of online learning and students’ desire for action-oriented education, universities need to adapt their ways of organizing and leading to stay relevant. The university of the future empowers students and all university stakeholders to be changemakers, firmly embeds changemaking into its culture and operations, and works to address both local and global challenges. (Ashoka U Manifesto section, para. 1).

Changemaker Campuses, an Ashoka U designation, are doing just that; re-envisioning higher education as a space and place for social innovation and changemaking at the systems level. Specifically, Changemaker Campuses are “colleges and universities with a proven track record of campus-wide excellence for social innovation and changemaking. These institutions collaborate with each other and Ashoka to advance social innovation and changemaking across higher education to graduate millions of changemakers” (Ashoka U, n.d., Changemaker campus section para. 1). In order to receive Ashoka’s prestigious designation, four criteria must be met. Click on each label below to learn more (adapted from Ashoka U, Changemaker Campus Criteria section, n.d.).

Based on these four areas of evaluation, Changemaker Campuses undergo a thorough review of conversations, interviews, written analysis, and in-person visits to determine how social innovation is embedded as a core value, and the myriad of ways in which the college or university has built supportive environments for changemaking across their institutions (Ashoka U, n.d.). Since 2008, 45 institutions around the world have received Ashoka’s designation; Canada is home to seven Changemaking Campuses. Check out Ashoka Canada to meet the Canadian campuses, both past and present.

Changemaking at Georgian College

In 2018, Georgian College received their Changemaker Campus designation, the first Canadian college to be recognized by Ashoka. In 2023, Ashoka U renewed Georgian College’s designation for four more years. Notably, Ashoka U recognized Georgian College’s Flourishing 5 Pack micro-certificates, which nurture skills to help students make positive social change; Community Impact lab projects, where students, employees, and community members work together to solve real-world problems impacting their communities; and groundbreaking research on changemaker competencies being shared globally as evidence of Georgian College’s continued commitment. According to Suzie Addison-Toor, Vice President, Student Success and a Georgian College Change Leader, “Our students and employees are driven to make a difference in the world, and we’re here to champion and support them. Georgian is immersed in changemaking at every level. We’re also excited to inspire more colleges to pursue the changemaking designation so we can grow a Canadian network of changemakers and share what we’ve learned so far on this journey” (Georgian College, 2023, para. 5).

Georgian College’s (2023) video, Georgian Redesignated an Ashoka U Changemaker College, shares some of the highlights from Georgian College’s changemaker team about the redesignation.

Changemaker Pathways at Georgian College

The Centre for Changemaking and Social Innovation at Georgian College has made it seamless for future changemakers to navigate their changemaker pathway. By recognizing the nuanced ways changemaking can both be nurtured and manifest, 10 changemaker pathways are presented to learners and educators alike including:

1. Empathizer: I want to connect with people, so I can really understand what they are facing.
2. Volunteer: I want to volunteer my time to help others.
3. Champion: I see a better way to collaborate and use my voice to bring diverse agendas to the conversation.
4. Activist: I want to campaign to bring about political or social change.
5. Intrapreneur: I want to take responsibility for making change in whatever community or organization I am a part of.
6. Social Entrepreneur: I want to use business to affect positive social change.
7. Social Innovator: I want to create new strategies, products or ideas to address social issues.
8. Funder/Investor: I want to raise, donate or contribute financially to social impact.
9. Researcher: I want to use data to tell fact-based stories to support change.
10. Policy Maker: I want to work with multiple groups of people to design, develop, and model new policies that promote social change.

Changemaker pathways harvest the natural curiosities each individual brings to carve out a meaningful journey toward changemaking. To learn more about Changemaker Pathways at Georgian College, check out the Changemaker Pathway Quick Reference Guide [PDF].