Annual Conference 2019 – Organizing Philanthropy for Systemic Change
From April 9 – 12 | near Rio de Janeiro | Brazil
A founder/movement Encontro
Our 2019 gathering offered us an opportunity to situate our work within the context of developments in Brazil, Latin America and the wider world, and to broaden perspectives on the systemic and global nature of today’s challenges. We built on the Barcelona Commitment from our 2016 conference and gender justice framings in New Orleans last year, on the insights and efforts of our Global Engagement Lab cohorts and on the work of allied funder networks and initiatives as well.
Just as significantly however, our 2019 gathering was organized in close collaboration with 50 leading thinkers and leaders from civil society organizations and networks across five continents, who met for three days in Systemic Alternatives Symposium to advance and consolidate their own work of renewal and development of alternative visions. A key part of the EDGE conference included a day-long “encounter” to delve deeply and learn from their analysis and strategies, followed by our own work lifting up values, approaches, tools and initiatives that can contribute in concrete and complementary ways.
Together we hope to have contributed to emerging debates and concrete strategies that advance an alternative philanthropy, moving from transactional to transformational grantmaking in support of deep and long term societal change.
Click here for access the full report of the 2019 Annual Conference, and here for the Systemic Alternatives Symposium report.
Thanks for joining us!
Conference in Numbers
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> Participants and Sessions
This year 121 funders participated in the Funders Assembly. They were joined during the day of the Encontro by 56 movements representatives from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe who’d attended the Systemic Alternatives Symposium earlier in the week. We are proud that funders chose to attend the conference, despite the format of the event not providing the opportunity for them to plan workshops or invite their grantees in the manner of traditional conferences. Amongst funders, the post conference surveys indicated the following main reasons for attending:
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>CO Emissions
EDGE is part of the problem as well as the solution. Estimate climate gas emissions from air travel to the conference are estimated to have totaled 823 tons, or 4.3 tons per person. This compares with estimates of 1.8 tons per person for the Barcelona conference in 2017, and 3 tons per person for New Orleans in 2018.
Survey Results
“It is wonderful to be outside of the US/Europe because it forces those of us from those places to get out of our normal way of thinking”
The EDGE Conference 2019 was co-chaired by Maria Amalia Souza, from CASA Socio-Environmental Fund, and Jovanna García Soto, from Grassroots International.
To organise the event, a team of funders and partners integrate the Conference Planning Committee [CPC].
Co-Chairs
Maria Amalia Souza, Founder & Senior Advisor, CASA Socio-Environmental Fund, Brazil, Conference Co-Chair. Maria Amália Souza is dedicated to designing systemic strategies that assure philanthropic resources reach the most excluded and vulnerable grassroots communities.
Jovanna García Soto, Solidarity Program Officer for Latin America, Grassroots International, USA, Conference Co-Chair. Jovanna with social movements in the Global South to create a just and sustainable world by advancing the human rights to land, water, and food, building solidarity across organizations and movements.
Conference Planning Committee
- Amalia Fischer, Elas Social Investment Fund
- Cristi Nozawa, Samdhana Institute
- Graciela Hopstein, Philanthropy Network for Social Justice
- Graciela Salaimen, Ford Foundation
- Laura Senan, Fundación Avina
- Ledys Sanjuan, FRIDA – The Young Feminist Fund
- Martin Modlinger, Renewable Freedom Foundation
- Matt Annunziato, Wallace Global Fund
- Stigmata Tenga, Africa Philanthropy Network
- Tanya Dawkins, CarEth Foundation
- Tin Gazivoda, Open Society Initiative for Europe