The challenge: We are facing social and ecologic challenges that are growing fast and we need to exchange the ideas, communicate ad together find a solution. The most important thing is to make positive social impact on crucial social and ecologic questions.
The process: The main motive for this conference was lack of dialogue on social subjects and absence of events on the same topic in Southeast Europe.
The solution: Every year, since 2018, we gather change-makers, social entrepreneurs, investors, NGOs and foundations in one of the regional capitals. Main goal of each conference is to start a dialogue on innovation and positive impact we could make in our region.
In February 2018 Impact 2018 Conference hosted investors in socially responsible projects and socially responsible companies and organizations from all over Europe in Zagreb, Croatia. The conference, which took place from 14 to 15 February 2018 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, was organized by the agency Brodoto and ACT Group. The aim of the conference was to bring together all actors bringing about positive change in society - private companies, investors, foundations, civil society and social enterprises.
"The event managed to bring socially responsible businesses and organizations closer to a wider audience in a very approachable and straightforward way. We insisted on the dynamic TED-format talks, swift Ignite presentations and creating engaging atmosphere for both - the lecturers and the audience. We are especially proud of the fact that, for the first time in this part of Europe, we gathered so many representatives of different social impact funds from the US and Europe willing to invest significant funds into projects that bring direct benefits to the society", said Marko Gregović, the Conference Chair.
Impact 2018 offered participants the opportunity to acquire new practical knowledge due to a combination of lectures, panels and workshops delivered by over forty highly qualified experts, including representatives of socially responsible companies such as Vipnet, Heineken, IKEA and Erste Group.
"Anyone even vaguely interested in social impact or socially responsible projects was sure to find this conference interesting. It hosted some of the most influential names in the social innovations business - from Rodney Schwartz from the British investment bank ClearlySo, that annually invests millions into socially viable projects, through Rohit Dave from Twilio Impact Fund from Silicon Valley to Biljana Dakić Đorđević, who runs the innovative Trag Foundation in Serbia", said Teo Petričević, Program Director of Impact 2018 Conference.
In addition to engaging lectures and workshops, Impact 2018 conference hosted a competition for the best social business idea in front of social impact investors with Albanian start-up Pana and two Slovenian start-ups - Oilright and Evegreen claiming the title of the Most promising social business amongst tough competition of eleven social businesses from the region.
Impact 2019, held in Belgrade, was an event dedicated to gathering and building further the impact ecosystem in SEE. More than 250 participants and speakers gathered to answer questions of how we can better invest in social ventures, promote impact investing, manage and measure our impact and how we can further support impact ventures in the region in creating scalable, replicable and impactful solutions for key social and environmental challenges. We were also committed to showing that events of this kind can be sustainable, low waste and as low carbon as possible.
The next conference will take place in Sarajevo, March 4-6, 2020. The third, mature edition of this unique event in Central and Eastern Europe is once again gathering change-makers to sprout relationships, and develop ideas with a purpose of creating a meaningful social impact. Hosting more than 500 impacters so far, it is driven by the feedback from a strong community.
Don't expect long panel discussions or parallel sessions. Impact 2020 is packed with open talks, fireside chats, and morning coffees. It will give you an opportunity to discuss social impact initiatives with entrepreneurs, impact investors and business support institutions in an inspiring setting of the Brew Imperial Society and charming cafe bars of Sarajevo. This edition is hosted by Brodoto, ACT Group and Mozaik Foundation.
