“力求改变的路演”：17位少年探索改变世界的5种方式 Pitching for Change

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“一份工作，能够满足人的生存需求；让人感受到被尊重、被看见；最后，还能让人带着使命感去完成，产生幸福感……”

近日，在启创中心举行的“力求改变的路演”上，主讲嘉宾、前哈佛中心（上海）董事总经理黄晶生解释一个富含影响力的投资案例时这样说。

满足基本需求—>感到自己被尊重被看见—>能从中体会到价值感和幸福感

如果说，这是富含影响力的卓越事业应有的“模样”，那么，启明星中学生在路演中展示的一个个项目则说明，他们也完成了一场类似的、拥有价值和影响力的学习过程——他们从中学习到知识、技能，收获了关注和尊重，还体验到满满的成就感！

01

  聚焦“身边”

5组启明星中学生参加了“力求改变的路演”。他们向由商界和社会影响力专业人士担任的评委、师长与同学们展示了各自的兼具社会创新目标和商业考虑的项目模型，回答大家的疑问，力求说服评委，来赢得启明星社会创新项目的“启创星火基金”推进项目的落地执行：

* 马术通——实现马匹交易、希望借助养马疗愈自闭症儿童的平台；

* UPC——提供宠物助养服务和缓解流浪动物问题的小程序；

* Xerces Blue——在国际学校等社区推广使用快速降解PLA口罩的项目；

* Learning Pals——帮助留守儿童和城市儿童结对学习的在线教育资源平台；

* HUE——鼓励大家负责任消费和道德消费农产品的综合计划。

从城市到乡村，从小众消费人群到普罗大众，从日常生活到教育公平，5个项目反映着学生的社会创新意识和突出的商业项目设计与展示能力：

Xerces Blue小组一上来就引用Xerces蓝蝴蝶灭绝的例子，抓住了听众的心：“2021年这种蝴蝶被正式宣布灭绝，成为历史上第一种因为人类活动而灭绝的蝴蝶。人类活动对物种造成了这样的影响，让我们很震惊……”

然后，他们从蝴蝶的故事自然递进到人类对环境的影响，进而引出所有人都参与其中的、口罩使用的问题：“中国作为全球口罩使用量最大的国家，每分钟要使用300万个口罩，常规的口罩自然降解需要450年，而快速降解口罩只需要几个月……”这些惊人的数字，还有疫情时期每个人与口罩的高度相关让大家的瞬间紧了一下，恨不得马上为环境保护做些什么！

致力于搭建宠物助养平台的UPC小组关于项目的全面考虑令人印象深刻。小组成员在市场、财务、设计和运营各个环节明确分工，并且完整阐释了目标人群在哪里，产品内容和形式，前期投入规模，盈利前景，发展计划等。他们的目标是帮助宠物主匹配合适的助养人来照顾宠物，并拿出10%的利润资助救助流浪动物的慈善机构。

UPC的推广手册采用了符合项目调性的暖色

所有5个项目都源于小组成员实际的生活体验。“马术通”小组里，有的成员拥有长达14年的骑马经验，也有成员和疗愈自闭症的马术机构HOPE长期保持联系；Learning Pals小组成员3次参加扶助留守儿童的服务，为他们组织有趣的营会活动和募款；HUE的缘起也是项目成员对动物权利和动物养殖机构运营方式的亲身感触和思考。

关心那些影响社会的现实问题，正是启明星社会创新项目的第一步。学生们在广泛探究和调查的基础上理解问题的根源，然后找出创新性的解决方法。这也使得社会创新课程根植于实践，并和学生自身的兴趣紧密相联。

02

 静下心来

“接地气”，聚焦身边的问题，也更加能够激发学生的兴趣和责任感，激励他们为克服项目设计和实现过程中的挑战而努力。

“对于我们团队来说，到目前为止，最具挑战的一环是确定一项社会问题，并提出兼具市场需求、社会影响力和经济可行性的解决方案。我们研究过各种社会问题和可能的解决方案，比如创建一个倡导反对性别歧视的网站；通过销售服装和小玩偶来提倡健康饮食，但我们最终还是决定了推广快速降解口罩的想法。因为它可以用非常直接的方式帮助解决有关塑料污染的社会问题，同时也是一项最经济可行的解决方案。

在这个过程中，我们了解到，社会创新需要考虑许多因素，并且在接触潜在投资者之前需要确定许多细节。提出一项潜在的产品只是创建企业最初的一小步。作为社会创新者，我们必须思考产品如何造福社会，我们的公司如何影响和我们密切相连的社区，以及我们如何促使人们做出改变。

——Xerces Blue小组

“这个学年的第二个学期开始，Mr. Darcy告知我们小组上学期准备的项目不够实际，希望我们换一个可以改善助养问题、帮助流浪动物的方向。由于这意味着我们需要推翻之前几乎所有的成果重新开始，我们一度没有动力进行更多的调查和工作。后来，经过多次和老师的交流，我们找到了一个新的方向——宠物助养平台。一开始，我们并不知道从何下手，但通过我们组内持续的沟通，终于逐渐找到了适合的商业模式，以及UPC作为一个社会创新项目的特色。

在这过程中，我们也更加了解了宠物、流浪动物的相关的问题，学习了开创一个类似项目需要考虑的社会创新元素和商业模式，感受到了社会创新能够为我们生活中的社会带来的影响。”

——UPC小组

欧阳达西老师教授IBDP经济学，也是社会创新课程教师。他亲眼看到一年来，学生们的成长：“很高兴能看到他们在项目中越来越投入。他们像企业家一样，在这个过程中经历了很多：兴奋、怀疑、意见不同、发现‘新大陆’……还有很多次工作到很晚。现在，他们展示的想法和对细节的关注都让我很欣慰。”

03

赢得尊重

展示结束后，学生们回答了线上和在场观众、评委的提问，他们的能力和投入的态度，赢得了大家的肯定和尊重。

“让我印象最深刻的是，所有项目团队都熟练掌握了如何撰写商业计划书，而且都能非常从容、自信地展示出来。 孩子们能对社会问题和商业逻辑有着全面和深刻的理解，我相信他们长大以后一定会对社会有所作为的！”评委之一、普华永道中国 企业可持续部高级经理兰岚说。

亚洲开发银行项目分析师陶育荣也担任此次路演评委。学生们的现场表现让她印象颇深：“各个团队表现出的持续的热情给我留下了深刻的印象。这种高度的信心显然来自准备项目概念、基本原理、背景研究、业务范围和实施安排方面所付出的辛勤劳动和努力。每个项目都是独特的，不走寻常路。热烈祝贺各个团队的出色表现！”

路演结束后，几位评委对5个项目按照9个标准进行详细评估，考虑是否给予启创星火基金的同时，也为每个项目组写下诚恳、细致的意见：

评语评语

“谢谢你们看到了欠发达地区儿童面临的教育问题！这的确是这些孩子与城市儿童相比，在教育资源上的最大差距之一……

你们设计的运作模式非常好，通过帮扶结对的方式，让欠发达地区的孩子和城市的孩子成为朋友，这种同龄人之间的互助模式对每个参与的个体影响都是很大的。而且，你们还看到国际学校对参加社区服务的学分要求，也是在帮助城市孩子完成这个学习任务，相信会有学校或者学生愿意参与你们的项目的。在展示之后跟你们的交流中，你们也考虑到运营的复杂性，今后会招募志愿者来运营，思考的很实际和全面……”

“一开始的讲故事，非常吸引人！让我们了解到每个团队成员关于提高人们对农业和负责任农产品认知的初衷！这的确是个社会问题，也很欣慰能看到你们真正地希望解决这个社会问题！

在商业模式上，希望团队可以再多一点创新。如果你们的项目初衷是提高意识，以及支持改善农业产业，那么在具体项目上可以更多元和直接。例如，意识提高也可以通过各种社会性宣传的方式，例如线上线下campaign等。如果要改善农业，其实也可以组织小规模的农业体验workshop/tour等活动……”

04

  继续前行

“力求改变的路演”是一次严谨的学习过程。评委们从整体构思、可持续性、创新和影响3个方面，按照9个标准对各个项目进行评估，提供建议，并决定哪个项目可以获得启创星火基金最高达15000元人民币的资助。获奖项目小组将得到商业导师的指导。

9个评估标准

此外，为了让学生感受学习过程的完整和仪式感，学校也将举办颁授仪式，为项目小组颁发证书，告知评委的反馈。

令人欣慰的是，无论路演结果如何，学生们都心怀继续项目的勇气和满满决心。

“无论是否获得奖金，我们都将继续按照最初的计划推进业务。我们是一家自身具有可持续发展能力的营利性企业，不需要像非营利组织那样需要依靠捐款来维持社会影响。只要我们有订单，我们就可以维持我们的社会影响，因为我们将利用大部分利润来扩大业务和社会影响。” 11年级学生庄文祥代表小组成员说。

“我们会继续完善我们的商业计划/模式，更深入地进行市场调研和社会调查，探索我们从何发展我们的市场，了解项目开发所需的具体成本，让启动UPC所需要做的事情更加清晰化。是否获得基金并不意味着我们的项目就此截止或继续，因为我们仍然可以继续地学习、进步，在未来通过其他方式启动这一项目或利用我们这次的经验，就其他我们关心的问题发起新的社会创新项目。”11年级学生、UPC项目CEO陈华霖说。

学生们的热情和信念令人感动。我们真心希望能够支持到他们，和他们一道为身边世界带来积极的改变！

“A suitable job meets our living needs, makes us recognized and respected, and even gives us a sense of purpose and happiness…” said Huang Jingsheng, Impact Investor and former Managing Executive Director of the Harvard Shanghai Center, in explaining an influential investment case for “Pitching for Change” hosted by the Qi Social Innovation Center.

Fulfilling basic needs—> Feeling recognized and respected—> Extracting sense of value and happiness

Based on these integral parts of an influential undertaking, we are proud to see that in “Pitching for Change,” Daystar Secondary School students have experienced a similar process of learning, extracting a sense of value, and yielding an influence, in their own projects—where they have learned knowledge and skills, received attention and respect, and reaped a sense of fulfillment.

01

Focus On the World Around Us

Five groups participated in “Pitching for Change,” and presented their social ventures and business models to the judging panel (business and social impact professionals), parents, and classmates. The pitches were followed by group Q&A as the judges evaluated each pitch to determine which groups might win funding from the Qi Ignite Fund to help support the implementation of their social ventures.

The “Pitching for Change,” event had 5 student groups participating：

· Equestrian Manual -  a platform for trading and raising horses to help autistic children；

· United Pet Care (UPC) - an APP that takes care of pets and helps stray animals;

· Xerces Blue – selling PLA masks which biodegrade much quicker；

· Learning Pals —  a platform connecting rural and city kids for on-line learning; 

· HUE – a social venture raising awareness on responsible production of the agriculture industry.

From cities to the countryside, from small consumer groups to the general public, from daily life to equal access to education, these five projects demonstrated Daystar students’ social innovation mindset combined with exceptional business and presentation skills.

For example, the team launching fast degradable masks used the recent extinction of a butterfly to draw in the audience: “In 2021, the Xerces Blue butterfly was officially announced to be extinct. It is the first butterfly species to become extinct, all because of human activity. We are really shocked at how much human activity can affect other species…”

They smoothly transitioned to the influence of the human race on the natural environment, introducing the problem of mask consumption and waste: “China is the largest consumer of masks globally. We use three million masks every minute! Did you know that each of these common masks takes 450 years to degrade, but a fast degradable mask only needs a couple of months…” They showed everyone the shocking number of masks we consume during COVID-19. Everyone was shocked and excited that there was another option for masks that was much kinder to the environment.

The UPC team pitched their social venture to develop an APP to help match pet owners with additional support such as pet sitting, dog walking, and feeding. They also support rescue animals with adoption/fostering and give 10% of their proceeds to support animal rescue charities.  The team had a clear division of labor—marketing, finance, design, and operations. They comprehensively and clearly explained their target customers, the detailed content and design for their platform and products, their financial model and business expansion plan.

UPC promotion brochure

In fact, all the five projects were inspired from the students’ life experiences. In the “Equestrian Manual” team, some members had 14 years of horseback riding experience and a long-term relationship with equestrian organizations that help autistic children in Beijing (HOPE). In the “Learning Pals” team, the students have spent 3 summers supporting left-behind children in the rural areas by providing fun camps and fundraising to buy the supplies. And, the HUE project was created after through team members exploration and passion around animal rights and how meat companies raise the animals and treat them.

Deeply caring about these real problems that affect the society is the first step in Daystar’s social innovation program. Students then inquire and research into the issue connecting with stakeholders and understanding the root causes, before being able to innovate through unique solutions. This enables the Social Innovation Program to be grounded in a practical process that can be applied to the student’s interest area.

02

 Social Benefit

Being “down-to-earth” and focusing on the challenges in the world, can inspire students’ interest and sense of responsibility, encouraging them to take action to make a difference through a project or social venture.

“As a team, the most challenging part of our business venture so far was identifying a social problem and coming up with a solution that had real market demand and was both socially impactful and economically feasible. We went through various social problems and potential solutions, such as creating a website to advocate against gender/sexuality discrimination, or selling garments and figurines promoting healthy eating, but we eventually settled on the idea of degradable masks because it helps the social problem of plastic pollution very directly and it was also the most economically feasible solution.

Throughout this process, we learned that there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when creating a social venture, and there are many details that need to be identified before being able to approach potential investors. Coming up with a potential product was just the first small step in creating a company. As social entrepreneurs, we had to think of how our product will benefit society, how our company could impact communities that we interact with, and how we can inspire people to change. The greatest achievement that our team has gained from this experience is being able to identify a socially innovative business opportunity with real market demand.  ”

——Xerces Blue Team

“In the second term of this year, Mr. Darcy told us that the SI project we developed was not practical enough. He hoped that we could focus on helping stray animals or animal welfare. It mean’t we had to start all over again! The whole team lost motivation to move forward,  but after talking with teachers, we finally found a new direction—building a platform for pet care support. We researched and think we have found a suitable business model, and figured out how to launch UPC as a social enterprise from our SI course.

While working on our SI project, we learned more about the issues relating to pets and stray animals, and researched relevant social innovation business models, and realized that social innovation can really influence and help our society.”

----UPC Team

Mr. Darcy is the IBDP Economics teacher as well as the Social Innovation course teacher. In the past year, he has witnessed students’ growth with his own eyes. “I’m really glad to see students are so devoted to their projects. They have experienced a lot of learning, like real entrepreneurs. Sometimes they are excited, sometimes doubtful. Sometimes they argue with each other, and sometimes they celebrate together because they come up with new ideas. And they often stay up late working on their projects. The brilliant ideas and fine details they showed in ‘Pitching for Change’ really impressed me.”

03

  Winning Respect 

Students’ ability and devotion also won the recognition and respect from the audience and judges.

“What impressed me the most was that every team was good at making business plans, and able to present in a calm and confident way. Students have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding on social issues and business logic. So, I believe they will grow up and make a difference to the society,” said Lan Lan, a judge of “Pitching for Change,” and Senior Manager of Corporate Sustainability at PwC.

Another judge, Helen Tao, Project Analyst of Asian Development Bank was most impressed by the level of consistent enthusiasm each group demonstrated: “Their level of confidence is clearly a result of the hard work and efforts devoted in the development of their project concepts, rationale, background research, business scope, and project implementation plans. Each project is unique and differs from routine operations. My warmest congratulations to the students groups’ impressive performance!”

After the pitching for change evening, the judges took the weekend to complete their thorough evaluations across 9 different criteria providing much useful feedback and a recommendation if the teams should be awarded seed funding from the Qi Ignite Fund. Some of their closing comments included:

评语评语

“Thank you all for highlighting the education problems facing children in underdeveloped areas. Educational inequality is one of the biggest issues facing rural areas compared to children living in cities…

The Learning Pals project is actually pretty operational with the simple model of supporting kids in underdeveloped areas by befriending kids in cities. This ‘peer-help’ method can greatly influence everyone involved. And your design to make volunteer service a credit requirement for international schools to help the nearby communities is excellent. With this system, kids are more willing to get involved. Also, after talking with you after the presentation, I found that you also considered the potential problems in implementing the project, and you would probably hire volunteers to help operate it. It’s a well though through approach …”

“Telling a story as an introduction was really interesting. It showed us the whole team’s intention of raising people’s awareness of being responsible for agriculture and agricultural products. It is indeed a social issue, and I’m glad to see your determination to solve it through HUE.

I think the business model can be better innovated. If your intention is to raise the awareness and public support for the improvement of agriculture, you can make the project more direct and diverse. For example, holding promotion events, such as online and offline campaigns, to raise people’s awareness, and organizing small agricultural workshops or tours to improve the agricultural industry..."

04

Keep Moving Forward

"Pitching for Change" is a rigorous learning process. The judges evaluated the projects across 9 different criteria around the concept, sustainability , and innovation/impact, providing much useful feedback. They will also determine if the teams should be awarded seed funding from the Qi Ignite Fund which is up to 15,000RMB per project. Teams will be supported by a business mentor!  

9 different criteria 

In order to let students feel the integrity of the learning process and receive more judges feedback, the school will hold an Awards Ceremony to present certificates and feedback to the project teams.

No matter whether they can win the seed funding from the Qi Social Innovation Center, the students are showing courage and determination to keep working on their projects. This is really inspiring!

“Regardless, we will continue to grow our business in the way we had originally planned. We are a for profit business that is self-sustaining and doesn’t need donations like a nonprofit would. We can sustain our social impact as long as we have orders as we will use the majority of our profits to grow our business and social impact, ” said G11 student Zhuang Wenxiang on behalf of the team.

“We will continue to improve our business plan / model, conduct more in-depth market research and social investigation, explore where we can develop our market, understand the specific costs required for project development, and better determine what needs to be done to start UPC. No matter if we win the seed funding or not does not mean that our project is over, because we can still continue to learn and make progress, or use our experience to launch new social innovation projects on other issues we care about.” said G11 student Nick Chen.

Everyone at Daystar was inspired by the passion and depth of ideas from all teams. We can’t wait to support them as pilot customers so we can all help make a positive impact on the world!

END

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知道我们怎样把社会创新理念融入了小学PYP课程吗？Social Innovation Program in Daystar PYP Framework

启明星学校是一所使命驱动的学校，致力于支持每位学生培养改变和激励的勇气。启明星北京的三个校区共同构建了一个由 1.5-18岁学生组成的多元成长型社区。 

Daystar Academy is a mission driven school committed to helping every student develop the courage to change and inspire.  We have a diverse student body of children aged 1.5-18 at three campuses in Beijing.  

泉发校区 为6岁以下儿童提供早期教育服务

三里屯校区 面向1-5 年级学生

北皋校区 涵盖 K-12 各年级

Our Daystar Early Center, serving our youngest students

Sanlitun campus accommodating 

children grade 1-5 and our Beigao campus 

serving children grade K-12

启明星学校是艾毅教育集团的重要成员。请扫描二维码或拨打招生电话，了解学校详细信息：

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