HELLO Impact Week Community!!!

We are about to wrap up May with loads of energy and  - drum roll – Impact Week news! 

Read on if you are curious to hear about 

• the two new faces supporting the organization, 

• what new opportunities we have to combine Design Thinking with impact,

• the lastest impact stories from our Impact Week world, and

• community events in planning! 

We are already in the starting position to embark on our journey to solve pressing issues for refugee integration with Design Thinking! 💪We are excited to bring this special Impact Week for and with refugees to live. Together with our local partner Leven and a plethora of non-profit organizations such as Eurorelief, Rain Lab, Petalouda, and the Hellenic Ministries, we are searching for innovative ideas - that will be pitched on the International Refugee Day! ✨Stay tuned for updates and impressions on our social media channels!

The east of India, with its unique root bridges, is known for its amplitude of water and green hills 🌱 - but hopefully soon also for its innovators and change-makers! ⚡
We are coming to Shillong for the second time and will work with amazing partners: PRIME Hub, which was already our dear partner for the biggest Impact Week ever (Meghalaya 2023) and the Martin Luther Christian University as our main host. James Obuhuma (our Lead Coach) and James Mugambi (our Organizer) from Kenya and the surrounding team will bring intercultural experiences and Design Thinking to the rock capital of India! 

Come join us and become a part of our international Design Thinkers 4 Good melting pot! 

Pssst: be quick, applications close soon!

4 years after our first virtual challenge in South Africa, we are euphoric to be back in Cape Town for the first in-person Impact Week there! 

Impact Week in partnership with TSIBA Business School, a university targeting the townships in South Africa, and help alliance will empower over 36 local and international Junior Coaches and 110 young participants! We are eager to spread Design Thinking skills that they can use to solve social challenges in the Cape Town community. 🚀

YOU (or your favorite colleague, friend..) can join us! The application period has started. Apply now to learn Design Thinking, get international coaching experience and make a difference! 

Sun 🌞 & Beach 🏖️ & …..IMPACT 💥!

We are turning the community in the beach town/ villlage of Busua upside down! 

This Impact Week will be the starting point for the soon-to-be-opened center for vocational training for social entrepreneurship of our local partner: the non-profit organization UP Development! 

We can’t wait to bring (at least) 12 ounces of Design Thinking and a large squeeze of meaningful change to this region in Ghana! As we have been to Accra three times in the past years, we are particularly excited to bring Impact Week to a new destination. 

Don’t miss out on that special housewarming (more impact warming) opportunity! 🪅

Have you ever heard of Ugali? No? Well, then it’s time to brush up your Tanzania knowledge! You can either google it OR get some impressions during the Impact Week Tanzania 2024! 

We are coming to the University of Dar Es Salaam in November - the first time ever in this country of the African Greater Lakes region! We are thrilled to foster social innovation and find creative solutions for Tanzania’s challenges! 🤩

Ready to come on board, make a difference (and find out what Ugali is on-site)? 

We will be back to the Philippines in November! After two successful Impact Weeks in 2022 and 2023, Manila will once again be the center of intercultural encounters and meaningful innovation. 📍🗺️

Country fact: If you are into island hopping, be sure you can go full on discovery mode on the Philippines’ 7,640 islands (more than 5000 of which are uninhabited - in case you feel like having some extended me-time🏝️). 

2025, yes you have read correctly! Next year, the pearl of Africa, Uganda, is going to be host of another Impact Week - with a new partner and location! 

We will be hosted by the Social Innovation Academy, SINA, in Mpigi, where disadvantaged youth are transformed into social entrepreneurs! We will be training their multipliers from SINA communities all across the region as Design Thinking Coaches and will be including disadvantaged youth from across Uganda - we can’t wait to see what the impact unleash in this Impact Week! 🔥💡

As their talent campus is embedded in a beautiful rural and very green environment, this Impact Week is for you if  you are looking for an intense experience in the countryside!

We're excited to share that Impact Week 2023 participants played a pivotal role in the World Water Day 2024 celebrations in Shillong. The event, which was observed by the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Meghalaya saw enthusiastic participation from students, educators, and officials.

We're excited to share that Impact Week 2023 participants played a pivotal role in the World Water Day 2024 celebrations in Shillong. The event, which was observed by the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Meghalaya saw enthusiastic participation from students, educators, and officials.

Martin Luther Christian University’s (MLCU) Center for Innovation and Incubation shone brightly, winning third place for their groundbreaking Grey and Black Water Recycling System. They attributed the success also to the Design Thinking training they received during Impact Week 2023.

We're proud to see the tangible impact of Impact Week in fostering innovation and sustainable development and send our congratulations!

Nivishe Foundation, an awesome organization concerned with mental-health for women and girls based in Kibera, Nairobi (the biggest slum in Kenya) is now supported by help alliance e.V.! 💪 

We are thrilled to see that our former Impact Week Kenya 2022 contributed that our Senior Coach Lorine was able to meet Laura, Milena & Andrea from help alliance e.V. as visitors / jury  / track mentors and the Junior Coaches Alain & Steffi who are the project coordinators! What an impact! We are stronger together!

Our MD Carolin was a guest in Seeheim while the Green Explorers Summit was under way, and it was a great opportunity to see many familiar faces!! The Lufthansa Group event was a small Impact Week reunion with Alain, Milena & Tim from Impact Week Kenya 2022; Ruben from IW Jordan 2023, Marina and Simran from IW Shillong 2022 and Nikhilesh from IW Philippines 2023! Great to see so many Impact Week Alumni with brimming energy in one place!

… talking about Seeheim and alumni events: We would love to organize an event ourselves to bring our wonderful community together! 

Something that we would need is volunteers to help develop the concept and financing model to make this possible. 

Would you be willing to support this physical meeting? Then write us an email! 

Partytime! Did you know that Impact Week gUG as an organization turned one year old in March? 🎉 We thank all the supporters who have made this possible! Caro spoke about her journey that led her to Impact Week and her learnings during the founding process at Speaker-Night Karlsruhe, following an invitation by Jochen Gürtler. 

We have two more helping hands! 🙌 

• Jude Gamaliel Del Rosario, an integral part of the Impact Week in the Philippines 2022, and volunteer for our website team, joined part-time as a freelancer in April! He supports the development of a consistent file structure so that our organizers and Senior Coaches have access to the files they need going forward. 

• Andrea Quintero, MarCom Lead for the Impact Week Paraguay 2023 and Colombia 2024 supports Impact Week part-time as a Marketing and Communications Lead to help share our wonderful stories! 

If you have any pictures, videos or stories from past Impact Weeks please share them with us (andrea.quintero@impactweek.net)! For your stories you can use the form here: https://forms.gle/5Vbv7ve3WYPDXyNk6 

Thank you for sticking with us until the end - And now: CREATE IMPACT!!