Network Insights - May 31 2024

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

UK – Bronze Age burial mounds, Roman roads, deserted villages – these are among the nearly 13,000 ancient sites and monuments discovered and catalogued by members of the public using satellite and laser technology. Their investigations are part of a citizen archeology effort called Deep Time by DigVentures, the initiative of Lisa Wilkins. Read in the Guardian about how Lisa and her colleagues are opening archeology to participation by all and inspiring people to see it as a public good.

Global – A new multi-billion-dollar fund by Melinda French Gates will focus on advancing women’s power globally. The first $1B commitment, announced this week, includes investments in key organizations, one being Ai-Jen Poo’s US-based network, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (received $20M). Additionally, $20M allocations go to each of 12 global leaders – among them Fellow Gary Barker in Brazil – who will onward-disperse funds for global impact. Read more.

US | Nigeria | India – The New Yorker reported on industries profiting from mass incarceration in the U.S., with Bianca Tylek and Albert Fox Cahn contributing. (Also check our new interview in Forbes with Bianca on removing the financial incentives for incarceration, starting with prison telecom.) Meanwhile in Nigeria, Nelson Olanipekun is using AI to improve case management and match those detained pre-trial (sometimes for lengthy periods) with pro bono legal support. And in India, Smita Chakraburtty is leading an effort to transition the prison system from closed to open, building on the example of the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which adopted an open prison system in the 1950s. Read more.

Brazil – Social entrepreneurs are responding to the extreme floods in Rio Grande do Sul that have displaced 600,000 people. See a list (in Portuguese) of Ashoka Fellow-led organizations leading response efforts.