About imece
imece is a social innovation platform where people and institutions that create change come together and work together to find solutions to social, ecological and cultural issues.
Working towards developing new approaches, learning from experience and acting collaboratively; imece conducts its main programs imece impact, imeceLAB and imece dialogues through the activities it carries out with different partners and the content it produces.
What is imece summit?
2020 was a year of transformation in manifolds. As impact practitioners we all try to leverage such transformations to bring systemic change for a sustainable future. Such explorations need collaborative work and open space to nurture a dialogue on possibilities. The distinction between social innovation, business, startup, public sector and NGOs has been blending together, whilst the sense of urgency is increasing for a better society and planet.
To explore such possibilities, we have designed a summit to serve as a platform for individuals and organizations pioneering the transformation where they can think, collaborate and learn from each other for the pressuring challenges we face.
Why are we doing imece summit?
We live in a highly interconnected world consisting of many different but interrelated systems: environmental, social, economic, technological, political or cultural structures. Every challenge in these areas hints at more complex challenges facing us and our planet. What we are rarely told is that the solutions are as interconnected as the challenges. Good environmental, economic, or social action is able to deliver a positive upsurge of impact that is as impressive as a chain of disasters caused by environmental, economic, and social iniquity.
Individuals and organizations that lead transformation accumulate valuable in-depth learnings and knowledge. Rather than perceiving the solutions we provide for these challenges as separate efforts, we can better serve the common issues encountered in each challenge area through holistic, integrated solutions and systems.
We know that one of the most focused global steps linking these issues are the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals are becoming a compass for all of us to work towards more value-based, humane, and egalitarian systems and a more sustainable planet. Achieving these goals requires being a part of the transformation and directing it at different levels, including the individual, organizational, societal, and systemic levels. Moreover, it becomes even more important to make this transformation continuous and sustainable during periods of change, such as, for example, the global COVID-19 pandemic. Even though these kinds of changes leading to global paradigm shifts create a crisis environment, they also harbor many opportunities to produce, implement and accelerate solutions through a more holistic approach. However, we do not have ample time to create a better society and planet. This sense of urgency is clearly expressed by the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals.
While we can’t say exactly what the world will look or feel like in 2030, we can contribute to how it will be shaped by the choices we make now and the solutions we produce in the present. In that sense, the future is in our hands.
On March 18-19th 2021, imece summit took place virtually, powered by imece, hosted by Zorlu Holding, in knowledge and network partnership with ATÖLYE, B Lab Europe, BMW Foundation, S360, SIX in session partnership with Açık Açık, Ashoka Turkey, Impact Hub İstanbul, İstasyonTEDU, KUSIF, Mikado, Now Partners, UNDP Accelerator Labs, SDGIA, TSGA and curated by De-Coder.
At the imece summit, we invite you to discuss the following questions: “How can we accelerate the proactive work of individuals and organizations towards transformation?” and “How can we promote knowledge transfer and cross-sectoral cooperation for this purpose?”. Stakeholders from the private and the public sectors, civil society, academia, entrepreneurship and the youth are all invited to participate.
As we aim to evaluate a range of interconnected challenges and opportunities, including the climate crisis, new economic models, new modes of production, new organizational structures and cultures, impact enterprises and investments.