In time of crisis arises a special need of rethinking and reorganizing our environment in order to meet the social needs and deficits which are visible under the weakened system of governance. These social deficits can be filled and that is why the Ideas Factory started working on EMPATHEAST: Forum for Social Change and Open Education in Eastern Europe. The main objective of EMPATHEAST to firmly put Bulgaria and the Balkans on the world map of social innovation and social entrepreneurship. As a region which deals with a dysfunctional political, economic and social system on a daily basis, the Balkans are a unique ground where social innovation can solve old challenges in a new way.

For three days from November 1st until November 3rd EMPATHEAST will gather together leading lectors and practitioners in the field of social change in order to create a space in which we will learn from each other, experiment with creating new models and celebrate the availability of approaches such as Design Thinking and Art of Hosting in a non-conference format. During the Forum, Plovdiv will become the setting in which seemingly foreign subjects will be transformed into pleasant and accessible starting points for reflection. EMPATHEAST will challenge your creativity for social change through lectures, installations, games, concerts and performances, stimulating collective intelligence and systems thinking. It will demonstrate the meaning of “public visioning” (creating a shared vision) and will reflect on intuitive and empathic leadership, self-organizing civil systems, ethical finance, energy independence, human centered design.

EMPATHEAST is much more than an event. It’s a Place. Process. Game.