hello europe
London
The language we use when we talk about refugees and migration is so often
tragic. Newspapers publish heartbreaking pictures, we read statistics which
boggle the mind in their numbers, learn stories which appall in their tales of
suffering. At the same time running through the difficult realities are threads
of potential, of optimism, resilience and of capacity for hope. It is here that
Ashoka strives to work. For more than thirty years, Ashoka has identified and
supported the world’s best social entrepreneurs – leaders with innovative new
ideas which can transform broken systems for the better, in fields from health
to human rights, education to civic engagement, economic development to
environment. In this time we’ve elected nearly 4000 Ashoka Fellows in 90
countries across the world. In a collaboration between Ashoka Germany and
Zalando, Hello Europe was created in 2016 to identify the most powerful and
proven solutions to challenges surrounding migration, integration and refugee
movements with the aim of bringing them to scale in regions most in need. Over
time a European, cross-border network of solutions began to emerge, and we began
to identify a new paradigm around migration and integration. Now 3 years on,
Hello Europe aims to provide a vision of the kind of work happening in Europe
and around the globe, which is creating a better society for people on the move
as well as for those who meet them. There is a lot at stake: by providing the
refugees with only enforced isolation, a lost education, and half-hearted
integration, nobody wins. Political will or citizen will are not enough to solve
this ever-shifting, accelerating problem – we need the nimble speed of new
ideas, the passion of social entrepreneurs, the weight of government and the
influence of business combined to transform the landscape for refugees and
migrants. “In early 2016 – a critical time in Germany – the Hello Festival in
Berlin was so many things at once: a very moving experience, a vivid
demonstration of the transformative power of citizen solutions for migration,
and a place where unusual partnerships began: between social entrepreneurs,
ministries, companies, foundation, and welfare organisations. I am excited this
is now happening across Europe!” — RAINER HOELL, ASHOKA GERMANY
