When Filipinos refer to social systems, we often reference something complex and intricate (masalimuot), powerful, and too big to be overcome (“kinain ng sistema”; “bulok na sistema”). These may even evoke associations with endless traffic, red tape, or a steep ladder with corruption happening on every rung.
Despite the reality of these perceptions, several Filipinos have taken on the gargantuan task of addressing systemic social ills whether it is the exclusion of out-of-school youth and persons with disabilities from employment, the exploitation of the Philippines’ hotspots of biodiversity, or the stigma surrounding interventions for the prevention of teenage pregnancies. They do this by mobilizing communities to co-lead solutions, creatively adapt to ever-changing obstacles, and committing to long-term results.
Ashoka Philippines looks for these types of people whom we invite into a community of support and call Ashoka Fellows. They are best described by the impactful actions that they take whether that’s getting government to pass beneficial laws, creating new ways to conduct businesses, or shifting the mindset of society around a social issue. Most importantly, their efforts are aimed towards the good of everyone, not just their personal interests.
In short, Ashoka Fellows are pragmatic visionaries who create systems change.
Image 1. An overview of the criteria for selecting an Ashoka Fellow.
But what is systems change anyway?
A system is “an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. … a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections and a function or purpose.” (Thinking In Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows)
Image 2. An illustration of a system. (Source: Systems Thinking in the Philippines by Terri Jayme-Mora)
As you can see, systems don’t only pertain to computerized or business systems. Social systems, in particular, are concerned with people and their relationships with one another. Examples of social systems include: your family, your barangay, your school or the industry you work in, the religious institution you belong to, the Philippine legal system, etc.
Image 3. The Filipino family as a system. (Source: Systems Thinking in the Philippines by Terri Jayme-Mora)
In simple terms, if you can influence elements, or interconnections, or the function of a system (or even all of the above!), you may be creating systems change. A good question to ask is: Am I getting to the root cause of a problem and making a difference? If it’s a yes, that’s most likely systems change!
We can also think of systems change through different frameworks.
For example, if you wanted to further deepen your view on what makes up a system, the 5R framework thinks of systems change through:
- Rules are laws, guidelines, norms, protocols, governance, traditions and other elements that direct behavior and processes within a system;
- Roles are formal or informal jobs given or taken by actors;
- Relationships contain all the interactions and connections, or lack thereof, and their quality between different actors;
- Resources refer to both the scope and (non)distribution of financial and human resources, information, power, and more;
- Results are what this system produces, the outputs, outcomes or their impact on the short and long term. (Collaboratio Helvetica)
Darcy Riddell and Michele-Lee Moore describe scaling impact to systems change level in three ways:
- Scaling Up: changing policy or impacting laws, to change institutional rules
- Scaling Out: replicating a particular social innovation in different communities to reach greater numbers of people
- Scaling Deep: changing the deeper values, cultural beliefs, meanings and practices of people, and the qualities of their relationships (Living Guide to Social Innovation Labs)
What does this look like in the Philippines?
Innovators who pioneer systems change come from all walks of life. They are from diverse backgrounds, and many of them initially didn’t think of their work as systems change, entrepreneurship or innovation. They generally started their work to solve a problem or close a gap that made them angry, worried them, or affected their community in a negative way. Here are three examples in the Philippines:
Ryan Gersava is the youngest of eleven and spent his childhood in Sultan Kudarat. Despite living in abject poverty, his parents always put great importance on their children’s education and Ryan and his siblings were always at the top of their class. It was during his first year in college that Ryan discovered he was positive for Hepatitis B. Despite graduating with impressive marks, he failed to secure a job due to his diagnosis.
In 2015, he co-founded Virtualahan with his siblings to make employment accessible to marginalized sectors, including people with disabilities, solo parents, persons deprived of liberty, etc. Virtualahan has created a program to train students on in-demand skills. This is combined with other equally important elements, namely, wellbeing sessions, coaching, and partnering with companies to make their hiring more inclusive. This approach seeks to address the employment issue holistically. Externally, trainees are set up for success as they are better matched with appropriate jobs. At the same time, trainees also experience a deep internal transformation; Virtualahan nurtures their self-confidence and self-worth so that they advocate for themselves. The company also reports a 60% employment rate for over a thousand graduates.
Tina Liamzon was an activist all throughout her school years. As a young professional, she immersed herself in civil society organizations, especially those from rural areas. In 1990, she eventually moved to Italy where her husband had accepted a position. She met many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Europe and learned of their challenges. Interconnected problems such as difficulty integrating with foreign cultures, the inaccessiblity of financial literacy, and the scarcity of well-paying professional jobs in the Philippines created systems that trapped OFWs in difficult, demeaning, and dangerous jobs.
It was in middle age when she identified the right combination of elements to activate the agency of OFWs. With her husband, she founded ALSE OF-LIFE (Ateneo Overseas Filipinos’ Leadership, Innovation, Financial Literacy, and Social Entrepreneurship) to equip Filipino migrants with skills and mindsets for self-sufficiency. The program has reached 26 countries globally and has 4500 alumni, many of whom give back to society as volunteers.
Bai Rohaniza “Honey” Sumdad-Usman was born into an inter-faith family. Her father is a Maranao Muslim, while her mother is a Christian who converted to Islam. When she was two years old, her family relocated to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and she was seven years old during the outbreak of the Gulf War. She vividly remembers explosions, missiles, and the daily routine of preparing for a possible chemical attack.
When Honey returned to the Philippines, she heard similar stories from her countrymen and envisioned peace as a way of life for all Filipinos. She recognized the influence the youth have on society and founded the Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TPBPM). TPBPM teaches children to aspire to be peace advocates through formal and non-formal Peace Education which includes music, arts, games, sports and community service. At the time of its founding, TPBPM was the only peace program in the Philippines for elementary-aged children in both conflict and non-conflict areas. Focusing on a young demographic follows Honey’s belief and experience that prejudice and discrimination are the foundation of conflict and ultimately normalize violent views within children.
The Ashoka Fellowship
There are two key takeaways from the examples above. First, innovation doesn’t necessarily mean inventing a new device or technology. It can also mean establishing a new way for people to treat each other and themselves with more empathy and self-determination.
Second, achieving systems change is beyond challenging. Though it can feel lonely, no one person can reach it alone. Every changemaker in history was successful because they had a support system or dream team to help them out.
To support pioneers of systems change who have impact at a national or even continental level, Ashoka offers them a lifelong Fellowship since changing systems is a long-term commitment and solutions must evolve with ever-changing problems. Rather than going through the typical application processes of other fellowships, Fellows are scouted, nominated by people like you.
Like any other human relationship that lasts a lifetime like marriage or friendship, Ashoka and our Fellows must be a good fit for each other. Therefore, searching for and selecting Ashoka Fellows involves a rigorous process.
Image 4. An overview of the process for selecting an Ashoka Fellow. (Source: Ashoka’s Global Venture team)
Now we want to hear from you!
Do you know of anyone who is solving an important social issue or problem with an eye towards systems-change and could use support? Ashoka would like to learn more about them!
Our final thoughts
You might be familiar with innovators who are prominent but not part of the Fellowship. Maybe their social innovation is taking a form that is different from what Ashoka is looking for.
Sometimes it’s a matter of timing. You may find changemakers who are at the earliest stages of their work. Ashoka can steer them toward resources and may later elect them to the Fellowship once their work begins to tackle systems change at scale. Ashoka may also encounter social innovators at later, more mature, stages of their work. Often, this means they might have less need for support. In both cases, Ashoka may still engage them through the Fellowship.
While not everyone is a perfect fit for the Ashoka Fellowship, our Fellows have taught us that everyone can and should be a changemaker in whatever shape, form, or way that entails. In a world where problems are growing more complex and interconnected, we need every person to work together to break barriers and co-create solutions that will outrun these problems.
Learn more about systems change
Systems Change as Outcome and Approach
A (Beginner) Facilitator’s Guide to Systems Thinking
How female Ashoka Fellows are creating systems change in the Philippines
About Us
Founded in 1980, Ashoka has created the first and largest professional network that supports leading social entrepreneurs around the world, with nearly 4,000 Ashoka Fellows from 93 countries.
Ashoka envisions an “Everyone A Changemaker” world where each individual has the freedom, confidence, and societal support to address any social problem and drive change. Learn more.