Something extraordinary is about to happen.
In less than two weeks, Acumen will host 300 of the world’s most dynamic and creative entrepreneurs and emerging leaders—our Fellows—on a week-long journey of transformation. This unprecedented event, the Acumen Fellows Global Gathering, will turn nearly 30 cohorts from over a decade of our leadership programs into a single, connected community committed to accelerating social change, together.
We launched our first Fellowship program in 2006 so the world’s best and the brightest could get their hands dirty working for companies on the front lines of the then-emerging social enterprise sector. Our goal was to train young, driven change agents to become the architects of this new sector. We couldn’t have imagined then how far we’d come.
Designed to unleash potential and forge meaningful connections, the Acumen Fellows Global Gathering will feature a range of talks and workshops on topics such as how to raise funding for your social enterprise, use business as a tool to fight corruption, build inclusive companies in post-conflict zones, re-connecting to your purpose, the value of cross-sector partnerships, and much more. The event will also include talks by some of the world’s most prominent business and thought leaders, including Bob Collymore (CEO of Safaricom), Bryan Stevenson (author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative), Agnes Kalibata (president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), Pat Mitchell (former CEO of PBS), among others.
We believe fellowship is just as important as leadership because together we can achieve much more than any one of us can alone. That’s why we’re committed not only to empowering extraordinary individuals, but also to building connections and deepening relationships across populations, sectors and geographies. We want to create a global ecosystem of change agents to be the generation that brings an end to poverty once and for all.
We look forward to sharing some of the many exciting outcomes that are sure to result from this unparalleled event, so please stay tuned.