Tonya Surman asks, “What is social innovation?” at the 2018 Jim Green Memorial Lecture

Tonya Surman, a social entrepreneur who has built multiple world-changing projects which put people and the planet first, was invited to speak at the sixth annual Jim Green Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, March 7th at the SFU Goldcorp Centre fort the Arts. For the past six years, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement has supported and organized the annual Jim Green Memorial Lecture with the help of various partners. This year’s event was co-sponsored by SFU Public Square, SFU RADIUS, and LEDlab.

Tonya Surman is the founding CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI). With four locations in Toronto and one location in New York, CSI has become “a coworking space, community and launchpad for people who are changing the world.” CSI supports its members by providing the basics, tools, services, and connections to help jump start businesses who share the common purpose to make the world a better place, and to “accelerate their success and amplify their social impact.”

This year’s lecture focused on the idea and future of social innovation. Surman analyses and reflects upon the place that social innovation has occupied among social justice movements of the past. How can social innovation learn from social justice movements? While looking at the positive aspects of social innovation, Surman also takes a step back and brings to light the things which still need to be worked on. Surman tries to define what social innovation is, but also what it can be and could become.

Wishing you could have attended the lecture yourself? Good news! The lecture was filmed and can be accessed through our youtube channel or below.