 Through a panel led by Melvin Shifole, our regional director of Texas of Africa, we'll be exploring the question, what are the emerging practices for working in a network? Please join me in welcoming Melvin to the stage. Thank you, Nick. I will start us off by introducing Emergence as a concept. Emergence is the fundamental explanation for how local changes can materialize as global systems of influence. I love this excerpt that has been developed by Bakana Institute which describes an anchor's emergence in system thinking. Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships from among people who discover they share common cause and vision of what's possible. When separate, local efforts connect with each other as networks, then strengthen as communities of practice. Suddenly and surprisingly, a new system emerges at a greater level of scale. And the system that emerges always possess greater power and influence than is possible through planned incremental change. This system of influence possesses qualities and capacities that are known in the individuals. It isn't that they were hidden, they simply don't exist until the system emerges. That's the text of global network. We are brought together by a common thread to improve the general well-being of communities we serve. And we do this by supporting change agents, bidin and profits, social enterprises, activists and advocacy groups. The sum total of all our identities, interventions, skill sets and interests make the global network unique and like no other. Though these relationships, through these relationships, we develop new knowledge, practices, courage and commitment that leads to broad-based change in the spaces we occupy. By applying these lessons of living systems and working intentionally with the margins and its life cycle, we seek to demonstrate how local social innovations can be taken to scale and provide solutions to many of the world's most intractable issues, such as economic resilience, climate change, food security and many others. But like any living entity, networks also go through ascensions, platoons and dissensions juxtaposed by emerging trends, mostly shocks or changes to its business environment. That was a mouthful. Now to share more on the emerging practices in a network, we are joined today by two eminent panelists who have dedicated most of their professional lives in weaving connections, usually from the edges, to achieve scale development programs within the non-profit sector while propagating a network-centric approach. In this panel, we shall delve into how networks function to achieve optimal and mutual benefits while contextualizing and referencing the text of global network experience. I'll begin by introducing Charles van Dijk. Charles is a social justice activist and thought leader with extensive experience in strengthening civil society resilience, sustainability and civic leadership. He is a member of the Global Governance Board of the Innovation Food Change Network. Charles is also a founding member of the International Consortium on Closing Civic Space, ICON, an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He currently serves as the co-chair of the governing board of African Rising, a Pan-African movement of people and organizations working for justice, peace and dignity. He is a co-team member of the Reimagining INGOs initiative, popularly known as Ringo. Charles also serves as the head of the Capacity Development Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute, Waxi, the partner managing the Texas program in West Africa. My other panelists need no introduction. Other than his big head, he is a very good guy and he's called Chris Woman. Chris has been working with and for civil society since 1999 when he got started building online giving platforms and communities before social media tools made it easy. Since 2011, Chris has held senior roles with TechSoup in leading program design and the communications functions respectively. Now that TechSoup is global, Chris is focused on leveraging TechSoup's assets into deeper and more supportive relations with the one million plus nonprofits that we serve. Now we go into the cracks of it. I'll begin with the first question to both panelists. There have been a number of disruptions to life in the past year, from the pandemic to the non-profit aid architecture to social justice issues. Are you seeing non-profits falling back to the established networks to anchor their voices or are there alignments or formations of new ones that are more relevant to their emerging needs? I'll begin with Charles. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much, Melvin. Thank you for this invitation. Thank you so much TechSoup. I think this is a really good question. I'll probably answer it and say all the above because it's been obvious. The pandemic has presented a multitude of uncertainties for all of us as activists, as organizations, and the whole global civil society ecosystem. However, in the midst of all these uncertainties and sadly tragedies, I've seen so many opportunities for transformation. One of the things the pandemic has done has been a great revealer of truths and what I've called a great leveler. So it has shown that we are all connected to each other more than we ever thought, no matter where we find ourselves, no matter the geographic space or the semantic issues that we're working on. So it's brought into a sharp focus concepts like solidarity, interdependence, and community. And so your question about networks and network, and I think a lot of organizations and actors have realized that being members of networks and networking is more important than ever. We're starting to see that within this uncertainty, it's become an important catalyst for social change. And why is that so? I think there's a recognition that there's power in facilitating connections through networks, and that's what networks and networking does. It connects all of us together. We come to share ideas, we come to share some of our deepest frustrations and even challenges based on certain agreed values and a certain purpose. And we've seen that through this we get empowered, we get nurtured, and it presents a lot of opportunities for all. So I would say back in the days it was nice to be a member of a network. I mean, if you're a member of a network, it was a nice thing. But now it's a must that you have to be a member of a network. And why is that so? It's a matter of survival. Now, if you're not a member of a thriving network, you're going to find it very difficult to survive and be relevant and legitimate in these times. And not only survive, but you probably not thrive, especially because of the fluidity of the situation we find ourselves. I mean, so this is my take on your question. I like what you say about the, it almost reveals things that were unseen or unknown for each now to come to the fore. And people are now engaging in ways that they couldn't engage before, probably because of power issues, probably because of proximity. And there's the fact that now we are joined together despite the distances and thematic areas that we have. I would pose the same question to you, Chris. How do you think networks are now surviving organizations falling back to those networks? Yeah, thank you. And thanks, everybody. And Melvin, I'll remember that about the size of my noggin. I would be curious what others are seeing out there around the world. It's funny, when you were speaking, Charles, I was thinking about how collective is the new cool and how, well, it is absolutely true that we must think and act as a collective increasingly as the world gets more difficult. I feel like there are also a lot of people trying to capitalize to be the source of the collective, to take this moment and lead the collective instead of foster collective. And I'm certainly seeing amongst that critical thinking and clarity that the processes that we have are not exactly fit for purpose or at least not fit for something beyond what civil society has been. Foundations are trying to work differently, things like the tagged task force, corporate seeming to try to be more cross sector. And though there has been more talk, perhaps less collaboration amongst established NGOs as they seek to survive than one might have liked, hard to blame them. Everyone's working hard just to get through the day. I think there's been a surge in local action around the world, sort of non-formal civil society. And I'm curious to see how that plays out over the next couple of years. Lastly, I think there's been a pretty interesting surge in the critique of development aid and civil society, like the Ringo project, which you are so intimately involved with. So I'm hearing a lot of talk and a lot of conversation. What I'm missing, something that you and I have talked about in many of these conversations, with the exception I think of Ringo, is a conversation about what tools and processes will institutionalize the conversations that we're having. We have a unique moment right now. It's a passing moment to advocate for the change that we want to see. Everyone's been shaken out of their nor. There's a concept in sociology called sociological imagination, a researcher friend of mine who studies disasters, was sharing this with me about during disaster, we become our best selves as we try to survive. But then we have to articulate the changes we have made. We have to decide which of them that we want to institutionalize, to keep them. Otherwise, we just go back to being the way we were. I don't think we are doing enough to match that conversation right now with discussions about the digital and community infrastructure that would institutionalize and reinforce the positive change that we've witnessed or the demand for change that we have in this moment. So again, unique moment, lots of great conversation. I think we as a network have a critical also under exercise capacity, starting with the fact that so many little NGOs open our email to spur that conversation and work to support people who might institutionalize in support in particular of the emergence of new models and movements. Thanks, Chris. I think I'll move to the second question. And I'll begin with Chris this time. Actually, let me begin with Charles. You have been part of networks and alliances and even led some. What have you observed are some of the conditions that keep networks not only alive, but also connected. And again, we're keen to just get some examples because again, you've been part of many networks. And the problem usually with networks, there's also that self interest. People opt in when they need services or they have their own interests and opt out just like movements. So how are we seeing these new space of networks, especially networks that are formed out of values, and you stick here even if you're not benefiting necessarily from the network, hoping that you are building almost some sort of solidarity and agency within it. Yeah, no, that's a really, really good question. Thanks, Melvin. So yes, I've been part of a couple of networks. I'll just give two examples of two global networks. Chris knows about this network, the innovation for change network, which is a network that was set up is very much global, responding to the issues of civic space, attacks on our civic freedoms, basically creating hubs around the world to respond to this challenge, supporting human rights, supporting social justice, supporting citizens to respond to this challenge. And then of course, another network I've been part of is the Change the Game Academy Network, which is more focused on developing competencies to mobilize resources domestically. We're focused on community-led approaches and community philanthropy, right? And they are different in the way they were formed and different in the way they've been growing. And I'll just share a couple of examples of I think what has worked for both networks. So first of all, a network for it to survive and for it to start operating effectively, has to have a shared vision and purpose. And so you need to agree with the members, where are we going? Which direction are we going? And what are we exactly trying to do? What are we trying to change? And this vision definitely has to be shared. And for this vision to be shared, you need some sort of agreed values and principles. And this is where sometimes networks go wrong when you don't build ownership for values and principles. So what are the underlying values and principles that will drive the network operations? And it's important that these values and principles are owned from inception and are what I call integrated and consumed by network members. And then the third thing that is missing for many networks, I feel, is the planning for sustainability from inception, right? The conversation about sustainability and resilience should be a conversation a network has from the beginning. It should be a continuous conversation on how we are putting mechanisms in place to sustain the network, sustain the vision of the network, sustain the membership of the network and efforts should be seen in building resilience. And I think this is extremely important. Then, of course, you can decide what kind of network do you want? Do you want a formal kind of network with a specific governance structure and systems that comes with its own challenges in terms of resourcing? And also in terms of decision making, it could be a bit more slower, it could be a bit more bureaucratic. Or you can decide you want more of a loosely formed network where you're not going to have a very heavy governance structure, but more of a flat structure where there's quicker decision making and less use of resources. But you may not be able to attract certain resources from certain quarters just because of the way you are structured. So I believe that whatever you decide should depend on what you're trying to achieve as a network. Then, of course, you should have, I think, intentional mechanisms that facilitate experimentation and innovation. And that's one thing I love about the innovation for change network where intentionally over the years there's been a space for co-creation, a space for co-construction, a space for experimentation and innovation within specific contexts. And so with the Africa Hub, the Africa Hub is allowed then to innovate based on its context. The hubs in Asia are allowed to innovate based on their context. The hubs in Latin America are allowed to also innovate in the Pacific. So it's been very much contextual in the way innovation is sort of, should I say, harnessed and grown within that network. And then I think one of the things about network networks is that you have a membership. So how does the network provide value for its members? And that's an important question. So what are you doing for your members? Are you building capacity? Are you offering certain services? Are you connecting members with each other? Is there a cross-fertilization of ideas and innovation within that specific network? And I believe these are some of the ingredients that help from my experience with the innovation for change and change the game. That's helping the network to survive and to some extent to thrive. Thanks, Charles. Again, for the viewers, when you see the screen having three different sizes, you're not being told that it's time. And we're just getting warmed up. So perhaps probably just the last one, if I may, is just to skip to Chris. And again, you can make it as brief as possible. We're going through, as the text of global network, we're going through changes. Changes in terms of our operating environment, a big one is marketplace. How do you see us navigating through these changes, especially for partners who are here, who might have some fears of how the network would look like going forward? How do you think, based on the experience that you've had working within TechSoup, that you could navigate this very interesting period, but can also be an avenue? Thanks, Melvin. First, I think I hope everyone can take a holiday soon because we're going to need our energy for the work that we have ahead. Then I think we need to accept responsibility and become part of enabling the collective intelligence of this network. If something is working, share it, help others learn. If it's not working, reach out, share, listen, help us learn. There's no way any single person or small team can fully understand the complexity of factors, the potential range of impact across the global breadth of what we do. That can only be done with all of us actively participating in sharing, fixing, and learning. Yes, we could have better infrastructure for learning, but we do have tools, emails, spreadsheets, and an incredible community here to support progress. We have to because those we serve deserve it. Take care of yourself. I hope you get a holiday. Come by Holland if you want to stop by. I've got a guest room. I do have a giant head though. Be careful. And then I hope we can all commit to the little bit of extra it's going to take to keep on sharing, listening, and learning to get through this, the patience, the humility, and the work. I look forward to doing it with you. Thanks, Chris. And thank you, Charles, for the very great insights. We ran out of time. Understandably, I come from Africa, so we are an oral society. We talk a lot. And then we look forward to having this engagement. Just in case, again, this has not been exhausting, but there'll be some time for you after tomorrow's global session, not global session after the sessions tomorrow, to just interact with both Charles and Chris.