Fun for A Change is a design competition that encourages youth to come up with fun ways to create positive change. It’s about getting people to “do the right thing” and change behavior by using fun and game-like motivations. It’s about learning and applying game mechanics without necessarily creating a game. It’s about thinking outside the box and rethinking how we can change the world.

As youth go through the challenge, they will learn about game mechanics, why they are powerful and why they are being adopted by entrepreneurs as well as social entrepreneurs. Participants may even win funding (up to US$500) to implement their ideas and share their results with the world.

To take part in the 2011 Online Challenge, youth simply join the 2011 Online group at funforachange.org and they will receive instructions on how to proceed to the next step.

The theme is social entrepreneurship.  I might have a thing or two to say about that.

My plan is to answer once and for all that all important yet elusive question, “What is social entrepreneurship?”

Without giving away anything, I will simply say I will put forward a new framework to think about this hot topic.

Feel free to tune in to catch this historic speech. My talk will begin at 12 PM ET at TEDxPrincetonU.

On July 15, 2010, I delivered a 2-hour keynote address on the Green Generation, a theme of the Global Initiatives Symposium, organized by the National Taiwan University.  Here’s the blurb for my talk/workshop…

The Green Generation: Redefining Success, Progress and Innovation
The next Green Revolution has already begun.  Its seeds are being planted not in rice fields but in the fertile minds of today’s youth, many of whom are dreaming of a future where humankind can live in harmony and equilibrium with nature. If such a future is possible, it will require business, social and technological innovations unlike anything we’ve seen before. Is the next generation up for it?  Only if they approach innovation differently, argues Charles Tsai, a champion of youth social entrepreneurs. New “green” models will need to account for outcomes, not just profits.  And they will most likely be developed from the bottom up, starting with all of us… starting with you.

I was delighted by some of the feedback.  One delegate told me my speech made her trip to Taiwan worth it.

In the afternoon, we had an unscheduled visit from the President of Taiwan (Republic of China).  He answered questions from the delegates, who were interested in (mainly) cross straits relations with China.

Through Ashoka, I was invited to visit Belgrade for a week to train NGOs as well as youth in Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship.  The youth were entrants in an innovation competition organized by the Ministry of Finance.

From June 15 to 18, I shared with the participants various tools for “customer discovery” as well as business model design.  Above picture shows a youth team articulating their business model, using the business model canvas developed by Alexander Osterwalder.

The biggest challenge these youth face, I think, is that there is no culture of entrepreneurship… yet… in Serbia, no “enabling environment.”  It’s going to be tough for them to get support – financial or otherwise – to pursue their dreams.  Their best chance is to creative a supportive network with one another and tap into global resources, as much as they can.

A key highlight of that trip was the tour of Belgrade that the youth took me on after the training.  Here, we’re visiting the fortress that stands at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers.

In February, I brought a contingent of young inventors to Ashoka’s global conference called Tech4Society.

The 13 youth (1 American, 1 Canadian, 2 Argentinean, 1 Mexican, 8 Indian) presented their projects to the entire conference and received the only standing ovation at the gathering.

We were really proud of the youth venturers, some of whom are pictured here with Ashoka’s founder, Bill Drayton.

I was honored to have given a presentation at the inaugural TEDxTaipei on October 17, 2009.

I spoke about Inconvenient Youth, a term I used to describe young changemakers. When the video is posted, I will provide a link here.  Stay tuned!

I’ve been a huge fan of the TED phenomenon for a few years now so it’s an honor to be invited to speak at a TED event.

This year, the Taipei event has three sub-themes: Taiwan Stories, Design Power and See Beyond Possibilities. I’ll be addressing the third theme.

What will I be speaking about? Well, you’ll have to stay tuned.