IIC 2015: Starting the Impact Initiatives Challenge

STARTING THE IMPACT INITIATIVES CHALLENGE (IIC)

10 - 15 August 2015

Impact Initiatives Challenge (IIC) started on the evening of August 10 here in Caux.  This Start -Up Week combines an incubator and a leadership programme.  IIC 2015 aims at inspiring, equipping and connecting  the next generation entrepreneurs, pathfinders, innovators and change makers to launch new solutions, projects, ventures and initiatives that will build a better, just and sustainable tomorrow.

The conference is in fact a journey linking inner change to leadership achievements starting by the theme CONNECTING, then BEING, defining your PURPOSE and ASPIRATION and finally COMMITMENT- materializing ideas into concrete projects and ensuring a one year follow-up.

The conference is organized everyday starting by plenaries to spark inspiration, then participants go to their reflection groups to connect and finally they are invited to choose between 4 workshops to equip them (tracks) :

- Growth and Personal Development for Entrepreneurs (experience-based learning environment through serious gaming simulations),

- Social Entrepreneurship (incubating ideas into a viable social business),

- From Ideas to Reality: Visualize Your Story (visual thinking to share and communicate ideas),

- An open space (Tailor-made approach gathering contributors and participants to ask further questions).

The first plenary of the conference was about identity and the theme of BEING.

Mami Veza, one of the team members of IIC, opened the session sharing her personal story of how complex defining yourself and answering the question Who Am I? could be. Pierre-Antoine Barraillé of Praneo Foundation followed by presenting inner transformation as the first step to greater change in someone’s life,  giving the example of his own story of change. He said "We all have our own path. Stick to who you are and if it doesn’t suit you get rid of it. You are your own guru".

Today’s opening speaker Bijan Kafi, from Sekem led the plenary on finding one’s PURPOSE;

It can often be multiple, as he said “living is moving”.  Before asking the audience what experiences led them to greater growth, he shared his personal thoughts:  “ An enabling environment for growth has to be created, but sometimes the organizations that limit you the most are those that help you grow the most”.  He also stressed on the fact that finding one’s purpose is seen as personal freedom, but that we should not mistake it as the lack of connectivity: "Freedom stems from the linguistic root of friendship. Freedom is not a lack of binding, it’s the exact opposite."

Participants who were strangers three days ago have rapidly grown into a community of motivated change makers. Ideas are fusing, connections are growing and as some embark on a Vision Quest tonight, others will wake up early to hike up the Rochers de Naye tomorrow as a symbolic illustration of  “reaching your goals”.

More information on Impact Initiatives Challenge here.

More information on contributors of the conference can be found here.