The Endless Journey of the Social Hero
Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion Project Notes || January, 2024
What is 'The Hero's Infinite Journey'?
Most heroic narratives, myths and legends in world history have common themes and stages. In his book "The Hero's Journey", Joseph Campbell formulates these stages that the ordinary person must go through in the process of becoming a hero. The protagonist leaves his or her ordinary world, embarks on an adventure, faces challenges, undergoes a transformation and then returns to his or her ordinary world.
What Stages Does the Social Hero Go Through the Journey?
The hero's journey is endless. As long as people exist, there will always be social problems, and there will always be social heroes who hear their inner invitation to solve these problems and come out of the comfort zone of their ordinary world.
We believe that social entrepreneurs who want to make a change in society, women and young people who are aware of their power, can be social heroes. From an entrepreneurial perspective, the endless journey of the hero can tell a story of social heroism. Let's look at how an ordinary person transforms into a social hero after a 12-step journey.
Ordinary World: A life full of economic troubles and social difficulties continues on its ordinary course. Our protagonist may have established a comfort zone for himself/herself. But still feels that something is wrong.
A Call for Change: The social hero recognizes that he/she feels an inner call to change something. This call could be the desire to start a business or to implement a project to solve a social problem.
Denial and Rejection: Denies her own power, thinking 'What can I do? There may be resistance to the inner calling due to the negative opinions of friends and difficulties. This resistance often makes the protagonist stronger and more determined to act.
Meeting the Mentor: The entrepreneur meets a mentor on the journey. It is an experienced business person, a trainer or an inspirational person. They encourage his/her vision, see the strength and talent, and support the protagonist.
Crossing the First Threshold: Overcomes fear of creating change and recognizes that it is time to take action. The hero starts an initiative by stepping out of the comfort zone, such as their current home or work routine. This is an unknown and scary stage.
Trials, Friends, and Enemies: The challenges, supporters and competitors encountered in the entrepreneurial journey shape the character of the protagonist. Tries to cope with challenges such as financial difficulties, competition, operational management of the business and starts market research, collaboration opportunities and networking.
Approaching the Big Problem: The social hero approaches and confronts the biggest problem in this new world. He/she comes out with a business plan, mission, vision, values and social benefit.
Turning Point: This is the stage where the hero confronts greatest inner fear. The protagonist comes to a turning point in the middle of his/her venture. Perhaps he/she makes a big mistake or achieves great success, but this point plays a critical role in his/her development.
Reward and Punishment: This is the stage of the consequences of the big change. The hero gets rid of the problem and is relieved. He/she may or may not receive material and moral rewards.
Way Back: Sometimes it is necessary to go back. Here there is probably a need to redefine the initiative. The social hero is transformed by his/her experiences. Perhaps the hero has a different vision of the goals than originally envisioned and decides to pursue the initiative more vigorously. This is the stage where the protagonist takes action to complete the adventure. The journey is coming to an end, the exit from the new world is made.
Climax, Bringing in the Treasure: The social enterprise takes its place in the market and there is a sustainable flow of income and value. At the end of the entrepreneurial journey, it has achieved its own success, which positively impacts both its own life and its environment. Perhaps he/she has started a business that contributes to society or achieved economic independence. The final stage is the hero's biggest test. The reborn hero is in a very different place than before. The hero is freed from his/her initial conflicts and purified.
Return to the Ordinary World: With the experiences and knowledge gained from the journey, the hero returns to the ordinary world. From the outside, everything is the same, but the hero is no longer the same person. The hero's journey has become a journey of self-realization. Now the social hero must share experiences, help those at the beginning of the journey, and support the emergence of new heroes.
Hidden Social Heroes of Anatolia
As SEECO Project, we are working in 11 cities to find heroes who have not yet discovered their own potential. We play the role of guides and mentors who support women and young people in the field to see their power and potential while they are on their journey to become heroes.
We work with the impact investing approach to support people working for the benefit of society with financial instruments so that they can be seen by a wider audience. We believe that it is an important tool for solving social problems, so we aim to popularize impact investing.
Investing to be a Hero
Impact investments are investments that utilize financial resources not only for profit, but also to create environmental and social value. This approach includes the goal of creating sustainability and social impact as well as profit for the investor. Banks, corporations, individual investors and institutions can turn to this model to generate both financial returns and positive social or environmental impact.
What Happened in the Field in January?
In Mardin, 35 entrepreneur candidates, who completed their training and received coaching and mentoring support, presented their business plans to the selection committee. Grants will be distributed after the results of the Beneficiary Selection Committee are announced.
428 business plans in Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa and 227 business plans in Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Kilis will be evaluated in the Beneficiary Selection Committees to be held in the coming weeks and grants will start to be distributed in these provinces as well.
The 2nd Call for Grants Program continues for entrepreneurs and entrepreneur candidates from Mardin who have a business idea or want to expand their business.
In the Grant Program, which will start in Hatay, Osmaniye and Kahramanmaraş provinces, grants will be given for the purchase of machinery and equipment, with a focus on revitalizing and strengthening existing businesses.
The number of people and grant applications reached through promotional seminars and information days in Mardin, Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Kilis provinces within the scope of the second grant programs. In Adana and Mersin provinces, information activities have started for the upcoming Grant Program.
The 2nd Call for Grant Program, in which 3029 people applied in Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Kilis provinces, has ended.
Four Development Agencies and the SEECO Project Implementation Unit met in Diyarbakır. Before the Beneficiary Selection Committees, where grant beneficiaries will be determined in January and February, we listened to the notifications from the field and made decisions about the upcoming process.
We met in Diyarbakır to listen to feedback from the field before the Beneficiary Selection Committee. Participation and information meetings were held in Adana, Mersin, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Kilis, Diyarbakır and Şanlıurfa provinces for the Livelihood Facilities and Social Entrepreneurship Centers being established under Component 2 of the project. During the visits in January, local needs and priorities were identified for the economic and social empowerment of women and youth.
Our Social Entrepreneurship Centers continue to serve as a space for social interaction and cultural experience for children living in the region. The "Cloud Play" organized by Kâşif Kumpanya met with 200 children at the Social Entrepreneurship Center in Nurdağı, Gaziantep during the midterm break.
Gaziantep Nurdağı Social Entrepreneurship Center is used as an inclusive social interaction space for children as well as youth. We visited Gaziantep and Hatay with the World Bank Global Director for Environment and Social Framework and other representatives. We evaluated the latest situation in the temporary settlements in Nurdağı and Antakya with Nurdağı Coordinator District Governor İrem Çetin. We once again observed the importance of social empowerment, especially in disaster areas, with the World Bank team.
We evaluated social empowerment efforts in disaster areas with the World Bank team. We continue to work to increase the impact of the Social Entrepreneurship Center in Nurdağı and the Textile Workshop in Islahiye to strengthen economic capacity and social cohesion in the region.
