We’ve recently partnered up with Miro, the leaders in digital whiteboards and visual collaboration, to offer their tools to SIA alumni as part of their Miro Startup Program. In a series of 2 blogposts, we’ll explore how we used Miro’s tools to support our global Social Impact Award offerings and how we used them to foster our sense of community. 

In April 2021, we ran a completely new kind of SIA event: the International Social Impact Weekend. It brought together young people from all around the world for a weekend of social entrepreneurship. Participants were taken through all the early-stage steps towards building a venture, from building a team and developing an idea to identifying an impact model and pitching in front of a jury.

The event was a big success: more than 300 participants registered coming from 49 countries. And the feedback was very positive:

At the time of the event, I was in a difficult space with my mental health. This event gave me a real push, like a sparkle of light in the darkness. I got to connect and collaborate with interesting, smart people, developed new skills, and personally became a user of the Miro collective for my own projects. As a result of the experience, I started building a social venture centered around the wisdom of indigenous people in the Caucasus to make an impact. – Sophia Abramishvili, participant from Georgia

By using Miro, we were able to more successfully lead our participants on a seamless journey, taking them through all the steps needed to build a venture, online. With the help of consultant Christine Jama, an entire “SIA Miroverse” was built, made up of different planets representing different parts of the experience.

A screenshot of The SIA Miroverse

In an age of social distancing and digitalization, being able to run events fully online and replicate the flow of in-person events is a gamechanger. However, Miro is not just useful for those running online events and workshops. It can be used for a myriad of activities, like running meetings, running brainstorming meetings, and much more. In part 2 of the series, we’ll explore how we use Miro to foster a strong SIA community.

If you are a SIA alumnus/a and would like to get the 1000$ miro credit, you can apply via this link.

If you’d like to stay up to date with the next International Social Impact Weekend, as well as all other SIA offerings, sign up for our newsletter! You’ll also receive monthly inspiration, knowledge, and opportunities straight from our international SIA community.