#partofthegood: 4 Keys to Make The Change at Festival For Good 2018

Social Entrepreneurship is at the heart of what we do.

This year, we are more than happy to continue taking part in Asia's largest celebration of social enterprises. Festival For Good 2018 has been an enjoyable experience for our team, and here are 4 keys to Make The Change at the mega gathering this year!

1. Strengthening the Ecosystem

Besides sharing about our purpose and story at our booths, our team had the chance (and space) to go around Marina One to know more about what our neighbours are doing this year. Who knows- this may be the first step of many great collaborations within the sector itself. Sometimes you don't have to go far to meet the right people.

On top of it being a new place in town, the festival is also held at one of the most Instagrammable spaces in Singapore!

2. Growing our Changemaker Community

We are glad to have met many familiar faces at the festival- be it our past project partners or students, it is always heartening to see how the same community is staying to grow even further.

This year, we had many festival-goers who signed up to be part of our Changemaker community as well. Some of them are students while others are working professionals looking to explore the social entrepreneurship space.

Tapping onto platforms such as Facebook, it is important for us to be aware of the happenings around and beyond the sector.

3. Support from both Public and Private

No matter how you prefer to term or coin the 3 sectors (private+public+people or public+private+civil etc.), you will probably agree to the necessity of collaboration. Gatherings like the Festival For Good is arguably one of the very few platforms capable of showcasing such a tri-sector partnership.

We are happy to have met up with Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth over the weekend and share what we have been doing thus far.

Also, the Festival is powered by DBS Foundation, who is focusing on building a more inclusive Asia by championing social entrepreneurship.

4. Learn, Unlearn, Relearn

Learning, unlearning and relearning is all part and parcel of growth. Take the video above for example. We love how this content is executed- they have real social entrepreneurs debunking common myths around social enterprises. Being a content creator and curator ourselves, this is a great learning case study.

The week leading up to Festival For Good has also hosted the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Summit 2018, as well as the Grand Finale of the 2018 DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia (SVC Asia). While the former serves as a gathering to celebrate, recognise and inspire social entrepreneurship in the region, the latter is a platform for new ideas to be tested and explored as sustainable innovative solutions.

The importance of having a community

All in all, the happenings and events purposed for social enterprise don't just serve to reach out to the public, but also to strengthen collaboration and understanding within the sector itself.