Ecuador, Angola is here!

18 de November de 2019

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On the 28th September 2019, the Angolan “Squad” landed in Quito, Ecuador, after 20 hours flying to attend one of the greatest gatherings of diverse minds pulling forces and learning how to tackle today’s most complex challenges. Little we should complain about the journey as we were quite lucky comparing to the other country’s teams invited who, also, very eagerly participated and contributed to the “Quito Mission”. Like most participants, we were excited to cross the Ocean to attend the Accelerator Lab (AccLab) Bootcamp at the historic city of Quito looking forward for solutions mapping, exploring and experimenting on what could work (or not) so that we could boost solutions for the most urging environmental, social and economic challenges of the 21st century. 

The bootcamp that was run and facilitated by the AccLab Global Team, in collaboration with UNDP Ecuador, provided great tools to all the twelve countries, from all over the world, that joined the fifth training session to build up their knowledge muscles on a range of protocols that are part of the AccLab, bringing a different momentum to the way problems are seen and solved. The five days’ workshop was divided by a series of activities such as a “solutions safari”, an exercise focused on training our eyes to see beyond the first layer to find extraordinary and unexpected solutions most of them already created by some individuals or communities, by taking pictures, interviewing them and making notes of those findings. This exercise complements AccLab’s first learning stage, which is sensing, followed by exploring, testing and growing, completing the full learning cycle. As well as that, we mapped our current ecosystem, where we have drawn AccLab Angola´s position, where it stands, begins and ends (i.e. its boundaries) and how it interacts with its surrounding partners and key players. 

Additionally, one of the key notes of that special week was Becoming Smarter Together. But what does it mean exactly? Great question. Simple answer: you, me, us, can bring the change We Need, the one We are looking for in order to address the most complex challenges We are all facing. Here, at the collective intelligence, three ingredients are brought together: diverse groups of people, data and technology. Acting on this basis, collective intelligence is created by being greater than any individual isolated knowledge and work, because it can be produced and developed collectively. 

Therefore, powerful and efficient. So, if you also agree, we can all say that the act of harnessing collective brainpower empowers us with a new and wider range of information, ideas and insights to address the current changes. It is crucially important to highlight that the protagonist of the ideas capable of changing the current status quo can be you or your community. Us, as part of the AccLab Network are willing to learn, support and scale up those solutions, so they are disseminated not only locally but also worldwide. 

For us, the AccLab Angola “Squad”, joining this world run is not only a national accomplishment but also an opportunity to be at the front line for change-making in this century.

Just like Ecuador, Angola also ama la vida!