:Title:    Changemakers of ashoka * omidyar
:Author:   people power GB - chris macrae (CCAL30)
:Date:     Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:52:26 PDT
:Modified: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 14:00:25 PDT
:URL:      http://www.omidyar.net/group/on/news/6/

Since omidyar and ashoka.org are 2 of my favourite spaces in the world, I would love to understand what collborations are going on between them

I am going to try and study changemakers quite deeply over the next week or two, and as I understand it is one of the collaboration projects, look forward to feedback, correction of any mistakes I make as well as any flows on other bridges between O & A 

Level 0 Understanding of http://www.changemakers.net

0.1 Uses an interesting jam mode (ie turning the world's local attention on one issue of grassroots change making every 2 months or so). The current jam is on How to Improve Health for all http://www.changemakers.net/journal/300603/health.cfm
 0.2 I use the word jam because habitatjam.com held a 72 hour session last December of testimonies from all round the suffering world on a handful of topics of which slum-life in Developing countries' cities collated an "unique to the world" body of evidence. It's there to search forever, as opposed to making precise conversational sense as everyone testified
0.3 Changemaker's jam is different as it invites project testimonies from the theme's grassroots changemakers; their projects are available to be questioned; the top few of the session get a 5000 dollar award. The most active project sub-group which may go beyond the prizewiners are encouraged to stay in network as the theme's grassroots pasion leaders.
0.4 Which constituencies get connected by this jam in an unique to the world way? Presumably:
*on-subject entrepreneurs to whom 5000 pounds could make a huge difference, and finding their passion network opinion leaders sustains the spirit
*worldwide concerned or expert people who may see with someone who is contextually worth mentoring even if they don't get the prize
*volunteers who want to represent depth of grassroots context cases (and bottom up environmental observations or questions) to powers on the otherside of the world. All with a focus not on thory but around practical experiments catalogued as rising up from the grassroots

If I have described this nearly correctly; the systemic pattern seems wonderful and unique within my known www; let's give it any support that we can directly as well as ask does its experience multiply particulat work that is being led around omidyar. 
http://www.omidyar.net/group/localglobal/news/
For example the casa hub of Rio and its catalytic communities might be a systemic win-win with changemakers?