Lenovo Partners with Ashoka’s Network of Changemakers to Create Kinder, More Innovative Cities
As part of the Kind City initiative, Lenovo will empower networks of Ashoka changemakers across the Southern Hemisphere to drive positive social change, build community, and shape a brighter future.
MANILA, September 12, 2022 – Ashoka, a worldwide network of social entrepreneurs, and Lenovo recently launched a collaboration to support changemakers around the world and power digital transformation and innovation. . With a $100K USD (more than Php 5M in PHP) grant that Lenovo awarded to Ashoka, the organization will provide assistance in four different regions including Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The Lenovo Kind City initiative, a crowdsourced vision for a more compassionate and empowering future, serves as the foundation for this project. Lenovo employed artificial intelligence (AI) to translate worldwide submissions into 10 fundamental principles of a more inclusive and kinder city—made possible through technology. But the Kind City was always dedicated to more than just a bold reimagining of the future: Lenovo wanted to drive real transformation.
The Kind City supports Ashoka’s mission to create a society in which everyone is a changemaker and has the empathy, autonomy, and leadership abilities to bring about positive change in their neighborhoods. In more than 95 countries, Ashoka has assisted more than 4,000 system leaders (Ashoka Fellows), 100 young changemakers serving as ambassadors of the “everyone a changemaker vision,” 250 change institutions, and 300 partners.
“We are proud and excited to partner with Ashoka and directly support socially conscious innovation,” said Calvin Crosslin, Lenovo’s Chief Diversity Officer and President of the Lenovo Foundation. “This partnership puts our Kind City vision into action and embodies our commitment to delivering smarter technology for all, prioritizing sustainability, and being a force for innovation.”
These regional centers, or Ashoka chapters, devoted to encouraging cooperation and elevating the most impactful ideas, will be hastened by Lenovo’s sponsorship. Ashoka changemakers may network, share knowledge, question conventional wisdom, and collectively advance their radical ideas. Each chapter will choose four changemakers, who might be existing Ashoka Fellows, up-and-coming changemakers, or regional technology leaders. The chosen changemakers will also take part in a worldwide initiative to encourage individuals to make a difference in their local communities.
“For more than 40 years, Ashoka has empowered local changemakers all over the world to boldly reimagine and shape the future,” said Jeanine Buzali, director of Changemaker Companies in North America, a global Ashoka initiative which seeks to co-lead social change with the private sector. “We are thrilled to see Lenovo make this investment in kindness, equality, and inclusion, and I know that our shared commitment to entrepreneurial innovation will have a long-lasting impact in these communities.”
This partnership expands on Ashoka’s conviction that social entrepreneurs have the ability to unleash the transformative potential of people and shift how they perceive the world from one of problems to one of opportunities.
“We need courageous companies to join us in breaking through existing paradigms and mobilizing the next generation of changemakers,” Buzali said. “We’re grateful for Lenovo’s support and collaboration, and we cannot wait to see the ideas we bring to life.”
Follow along throughout the year for updates on changemaker activity, new collaborations, and the pioneering work enabled by this partnership.
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About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$70 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #171 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 75,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company by further expanding into key growth areas including server, storage, mobile, solutions and services. This transformation together with Lenovo’s world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital society for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com,and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.
About Ashoka
Ashoka identifies and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, learns from the patterns in their innovations, and mobilizes a global community that embraces these new frameworks to build an “everyone a changemaker world.”
Ashoka supports this idea through its programs in more than 90 countries.Ashoka focuses on three strategic priorities to help people understand and adapt to a world of accelerating change, where everyone is called on to be a leader: Social Entrepreneurship, Empathy and Young Changemaking, and Organizing for Changemaking. More info at: https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/about-ashoka
