10 Years of Working to Change the World

November 3, 2022

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Three Amani Institute fellows speaking to each other in a small room

In June 2021, Amani Institute turned 10-years old. After a year of COVID-related pauses on in-person gatherings, we will finally celebrate this milestone this year. As you read this, our Hubs and communities worldwide are busy planning a global day of celebrations on Friday, November 11th, to usher in the next decade of Amani Institute. We invite you to join us!

 

Eleven years ago, our co-founders – Roshan Paul and Ilaina Rabbat – had a bold dream: to offer a new model of higher education, originating in the Global South for social impact professionals, accessible to people all around the world. They believed that “changing the world” could be a profession. What’s more, anyone could do it. Changing the world wasn’t a mysterious, innate gift; it was something you could learn to do. And so, they created Amani Institute so more people could learn how to change the world.  

 

They started their work offering what we refer to today as “customized trainings.” Eventually, they relocated to Kenya, created our first hub, and launched our award-winning open-enrollment program in 2012 – the post-graduate certificate in Social Innovation Management (SIM). Since then, many others have joined us in learning, and teaching, how to change the world, including in Brazil and India, where we opened hubs in 2014 and 2017, respectively. 

 

Eleven years later, I’m proud to say we have achieved and continue to achieve our co-founders’ mission. Today, we are a leading organization for social impact education, professional development, and training in the Global South, accessible to people and organizations worldwide. Our partners, clients, and community stretch over 65 countries with over 12,000 participants, graduates, and alumni. This includes over 600 alumni from our SIM program (over 28 individual cohorts); over 150 organizational clients for customized projects and partnerships, each contributing to direct impacts across a wide range of SDGs; and over 300 senior and middle managers across over 100 small and growing businesses through our award-winning Leadership for Growth program generating prosperity and impact in the communities where they live and work.

 

These are amazing achievements for our first ten years. What will the coming ten years hold? Where are we going next?

 

We are raising our sights to a broader horizon – not only to create an impact-centered education option as we did during our first ten years, but also to scale what we’ve created so that we might ultimately shape an impact-centered future of work

 

Going forward, Amani Institute will continue offering world-class educational, training, and development programs that equip people and organizations to lead social impact. However, we will do so in service of a new vision: a world where people go to work to create impact. This vision speaks to our desire to replicate and scale activities that deliberately result in more and higher impact work. Activities that equip individuals to start, switch to, and grow impact in their careers and workplaces. Activities that equip organizations and businesses to integrate and accelerate social impact. Activities that serve the purpose economy by building a movement of people consciously working to change the world. 

 

To the changemakers reading this note, I’d like to celebrate you. As an organization that develops changemakers, the ultimate difference we make in the world depends entirely on you and the impact you create. I encourage you to reflect on your professional journey. Your path to becoming a social impact professional, the moment your work and desired impact aligned, and how you create a positive difference in the world. As you join us in our celebrations, please share these stories so that you might inspire others to start the journey towards impact work. And finally, if upon reflection, you realize you’d like impact to play a larger role in your professional life, make it happen! And, if you need help, Amani Institute is here to support you.  

 

Let’s work to change the world together,

Complimentary signature of Daniel Bennett

Daniel Bennett

Chief Executive Officer

Amani Institute

Join our global special moment on 11/11/22 at 11:11

or find a celebration near you

About Amani Institute

Founded in 2011, Amani Institute is a global organization whose mission is to develop people and organizations to lead social impact. We do this through innovative adult learning and professional development opportunities for a world where people go to work to create impact.

​​Today we have Hubs in Brazil, India, and Kenya, with global staff and faculty who bring different personal and professional perspectives. Together, we deliver custom-designed trainings, our Leadership for Growth Program for small and growing businesses, and our award-winning Certificate in Social Innovation Management.

Learn more by visiting our website and following @amaniinst on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

For Inquiries:
Agustin Cuadra
Global Marketing & Communications Manager
[email protected]
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