In a world that strives for greater sustainability, experienced social entrepreneurs, more and more support and recognition from major foundations, writes Manuela Kasper-Claridge.
Recording from the city of Berlin, which was marked with a three-word address of what3words
She was 21 years old and dependent on alcohol. Acknowledging it, fell Lisa McLaughlin hard. Grew up in Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan, looked pessimistic in the future. The decline of the auto city of Detroit, high unemployment, vacant and abandoned buildings, where they looked at your personal Situation – it all left you to the bottle to grab.
In 2012, she decided to make a therapy. McLaughlin graduated from a tough program, it was dry and found her calling. “There was help for drug addicts, but was not evenly distributed,” she says in a DW interview.
Digital against the dependence of
McLaughlin wanted to change that. Together with her Co-founder Robin McIntosh, she developed the program “Workit Health”, which helps Addicts to weaning. This telemedicine works via an App on the mobile phone, the Dependent can remain anonymous if you want or very intensive personal care. “One in three Americans has some kind of addiction problem. This can be alcohol, Sex, opioids, or many others,” says McLaughlin.
The App provides advice via video chat or Text, and there are five – to ten-minute courses that support changes in behaviour. Social workers, programmers, and Doctors are currently working at “Workit Health”, which is financed through fees. Some U.S. companies have already take the costs for their employees.
Lisa McLaughlin (left) in conversation with the DW editor Manuela Kasper-Claridge
The digital technology makes it possible to reach more people than in the past. McLaughlin is regarded today as one of the leading Pioneers of digital health applications. Recently, she was the “Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship”, a Geneva-based Foundation, as an outstanding social entrepreneur award.
Build bridges and learn from each other
Under the leadership of Hilde Schwab founded the Foundation together with her husband Klaus Schwab 20 years ago, has built a network that is integrated into the platforms of the also by Klaus Schwab founded the world economic forum in Davos. Of the outstanding social entrepreneurs around the world access to businesses, NGOs and policy-makers. Lisa McLaughlin wants to use the active.
“There are different ways to contribute as entrepreneurs for a change. Within the network we can build bridges between sectors and learn from each other,” stresses McLaughlin. For the Schwab Foundation, social entrepreneurs are determined “a new kind of pioneers – from value ideas, inclusive, compassionate and entrepreneurial. You develop new, sustainable models for entrepreneurship, development and environmental initiatives.”
With three words, each address find
This description fits Chris Sheldrick. The Englishman wants to change his company “what3words” the world, by giving every man an address. “Four billion people in the world have no address,” he says. Sheldrick was a musician and had to find how difficult it is sometimes to find certain addresses.
A User is searching on the Smartphone according to a three word address
He did not want to accept. Because the tracking system, the GPS will not find any place. He discussed the Problem with a friend who is a mathematician, and together they developed a mobile solution that works with no contact to the satellite. “We wanted to create a global address system, so that every place in the world gets a simple name. For this purpose, we have divided the world into 3 square pieces, and each square has a name consisting of three words.”
How this works exactly, is not easy to understand. Sheldrick pulls his card out of his pocket. “filled.count.soap” it is as the address. In order to find the what3words office in London. The GPS coordinates would be 51.520847, -0.19552100. In comparison, the three-word addresses easier to say, remember and share. And they are already available in 37 languages.
An App that saves lives
The Berlin address of Deutsche Welle in English, the three word combination “brush.food.seriously.” In fact, the user finds the Voltastraße 6. “It is a simple Version of latitude and longitude. Instead of 16 digits, it uses three words, and three words describe the three square feet of space. The whole thing works using a mathematical formula and a tiny bit of data, only five megabytes,” says Sheldrick.
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Who, if not us? To save from the world
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Who, if not us? To save from the world
The App is already used by the UN, various NGOs, the 55 emergency services in the UK, from the Post office in Mongolia, in Djibouti and the ivory coast. Companies such as Mercedes and Deutsche Bahn are interested in a commercial application and have invested in the company, which already has 110 employees.
Sheldrick is proud of the fact that using the App can, for example, to send the private organization “Gateway to Health” in South Africa car very fast ambulance to pregnant women. “As a result, you can save a life,” he says. “You just have to say the three words and they can find you, no matter where you are.”
Get out of the niche
Social entrepreneurs work in today’s often technology-based. Digitization helps you to not have a great effect, even if your company are great. Crucial to the success, the right Connections are.
The Schwab Foundation seeks to increase the size of the network for social entrepreneurs after 20 years. “Social entrepreneurs no longer work in isolation. We see social Innovation as an Ecosystem full of pioneers, pursuing a common goal,” stressed Hilde Schwab. For the Swiss, a matter of the heart is the theme of social change. As for the many social entrepreneurs.