Network Insights - Feb 8 2025

Weekly impact, news, and predictive insights from the world's largest social entrepreneur network.

Indonesia – In good news for Indonesia's forests, Silverius (Onte) Unggul, who has addressed deforestation and illegal logging for decades, has been appointed as the chief advisor to the Minister of Forestry. From Onte: "This is a great opportunity to implement the sustainability principles that I have been fighting for. Indonesia's forests have a crucial role not only for the ecosystem, but also for the lives of the people who depend on them.” He spoke with us a few years ago about how community-led, data-driven logging efforts – including those pioneered by his organization Telapak – are making sustainable forestry a viable alternative for (formerly) illegal loggers across much of the country. Watch the full conversation or check highlights.

US – As energy policy shifts in the US due to the priorities of the new administration, Amory Lovins – physicist, social entrepreneur, and energy efficiency pioneer since the 1970s – reviews the long arc of the movement and revisits his principle of “applied hope,” noting: “Now is the time to be practitioners, not theorists; to be synthesists, not specialists; to do solutions, not problems; to do transformation, not incrementalism. It’s time to shift language and action from ‘somebody should’ to ‘I will.’” Read his full reflection. Separately, many social entrepreneurs and their networks are responding to abrupt changes with speed and creativity, including via legal action, preserving critical data sets for future research, and providing valuable perspective informed by practical experience.

DRC | Global – Amid continuing conflict and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a reminder to check what social entrepreneurs are working on in the region and help champion their efforts. Our first Ashoka Fellows elected in the DRC (in 2024) are: Vanessa Zawadi, Jeanne-Nicole Menemene, Sage Rutakaza, Jacques Mbusa Buligho, Héritier Kitumaini, and Henoc Muhindo. Meet them here (scroll down).?Separately, three Ashoka Fellows were named 2025 Schwab social entrepreneurs: Valmir Ortega, Muzalema Mwanza, and Aksay Saxena. And last, enjoy reads from Ashoka colleagues on collaborative leadership (Spanish here) and how to kickstart AI in your organization.