Creating Social Value Blog / Social Innovation

Learning From David Bornstein: Solutions to Social Problems

Image courtesy of Neiman Reports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the last six years, The Lewis Institute has been honored to welcome luminaries, thought leaders, and most importantly, game changers to campus to receive our Social Innovator Award. A social innovator sets in motion change that affects the life course of the individual, his/her community, and eventually, a nation. This award not only serves to celebrate extraordinary global social innovators, but also to inspire and inform the greater Babson community on what it takes to activate real and lasting change in the world.

One of our 2018 award winners is David Bornstein, a journalist and author who specializes in writing about social innovation and has written some of the most prominent “go to” books on social entrepreneurship. He writes for the Fixes column in the Opinionator section of the New York Times, and is one of the co-founders of the Solutions Journalism Network, a non-profit organization that works to legitimize and support the practice of “solutions journalism” — rigorous reporting about responses to social problems.

David’s work is directly helping to shift mindsets by helping journalists create new ways of reporting and connecting readers to solutions-oriented stories. Take, for example, his column last October “Giving Capitalism a Social Conscious” in which he interviewed Muhammad Yunus about his new book. David immediately recognized that his book, “A World of Three Zeroes: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Carbon Emissions,” is both a warning call and a solutions provider. His line of inquiry with the legendary social innovator focuses on integration, connection, questioning assumptions, and deeper learning.

Always looking to help advance people and their thinking, David has generously offered some time before the awards ceremony to connect with students and members of the Babson community to engage in an interesting, intimate conversation.

On Wednesday, March 28, from 9:30 to 11AM, David will be joined by fellow 2018 Social Innovator Award winner, Jeffrey Brown ’86, CEO of Brown Superstores and Founder of UpLift Solutions, to lead a conversation about their work, their impact, and their bigger “why.” If you’re interested in joining us at The Lewis Institute for this small group conversation with David and Jeff, please confirm your participation by emailing Jen MacDonald at jmacdonald2@babson.edu. Please note that this opportunity will only be open to a maximum of 20 students, faculty, or staff, and pre-registration is required.