Letter from the Secretary General, Prof. Azza Karam, on Faith-Inspired Changemaking Masterclass

Dear Religions for Peace Leaders,

I would like to share some exciting news for all the faith-inspired changemakers out there. Our friends at Ashoka are partnering with Trinity Church Wall Street to create a community of faith-inspired changemakers reaching across faith traditions. Starting with a 4-part Changemaking Masterclass this May the goals are to support faith-inspired changemakers from various faith traditions to maximize their impact, build their community and nourish the next generation of faith-inspired changemakers. Through the generosity of Trinity Church Wall Street, the Masterclass is free to those selected to attend. Please help spread the word (see the links below for sample posts).

Who is a faith-inspired changemaker?
· Spiritual innovators creating new forms of spiritual community, new ways of being faithful
· Social entrepreneurs or innovators led by their faith to build solutions to social issues for the good of all
· Institutional intrapreneurs creating new approaches to living a faith-led life based in love and respect for everyone across the generations
Does this sound like you or someone you know?

Please apply or forward this email to others you know who might like to join us or help spread the word. If you forward this, I would appreciate your copying arichardson@ashoka.org on your email to help us track who may be interested.

Why join a community of faith-inspired changemakers?
As you know, Religions for Peace believes that when faiths align to address common challenges, we equip each other for longstanding partnerships and commitment to those we serve. Making change happen can be tough, lonely work! We all need peers from whom we can receive love and learning and with whom we feel whole. By building a community with peers across faith traditions we can share the principles of changemaking and tap into Ashoka’s learning together. We will gain new insights from a varied group of people who share a deeply spiritual motivation for their work, want to nourish the next generation of faith-inspired changemakers and help recommit the faith sector to the common good in new and exciting ways.

About the 4-Part Masterclass: By joining this masterclass, participants will:
· Increase the impact of their work by learning how the world’s top social entrepreneurs create & scale impactful solutions
· Master Ashoka’s Levels of Impact framework to elevate impact & leadership in social justice.
· Become a movement builder for leading much-needed system & framework change in society.
· Develop strategies on how best to engage & empower young people to step into their changemaker power.
· Join a learning community of selected faith-inspired changemakers from various faith traditions who are already making an impact.
· Get recognized as a Faith-Inspired Changemaker, as part of the wider Ashoka and Trinity Church Wall Street leadership community and be celebrated by Religions for Peace.

The Changemaking Masterclass will meet every Wednesday in May from noon to 1:30 pm EST. Those who finish this 4-part Changemaking Masterclass will become eligible to apply for the Faith-Inspired Changemakers Lab experience, a more in-depth, smaller peer group process with Ashoka in partnership with Trinity Church Wall Street from July through November.

ELIGIBILITY: Ashoka is looking for faith-inspired changemakers who have in mind a change they want to make happen and, at a minimum, have already taken some steps in that direction. They welcome people (age 14 and up) with new ideas they are actively working on, as well as ongoing innovative projects to apply.
The program will be conducted virtually and in English. While there is no fee to join changemakers must apply to be selected to participate.

DEADLINE: The online application is open and the deadline for applications is April 25th. To apply, and for more info see: https://rebrand.ly/u74l9wj Have any questions? Please let contact mdid@ashoka.org.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Please help us spread the word by posting on social media and in any newsletters or websites you can access. The attached Social Media document contains posts for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you can post on an organizational newsletter or website, please use the attached 1-page overview document. along with the press release.

With gratitude for sharing our excitement about faith-inspired changemaking,
Yours faithfully,
Azza

P.S., Know someone who might benefit from this? Forward this email them and invite them to apply!

Prof. Azza Karam, PhD.
Secretary General
 
Over half a century of multi-religious collaboration worldwide
Support the Multi-Religious Humanitarian Fund
    
777 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017 USA
Tel +1 212 687 216