Aspen Global Innovators “Kitchen Table” Conversation
Jul 10, 2026
In this session, Julia Corvalán of Fundación Paraguaya brought together Elsa D’Silva of Red Dot Foundation and Safecity; Sathya Raghu of Soul Forest and Kheyti; and Oluseun Onigbinde of BudgIT for an open conversation about the current challenges facing global development and the reasons they are still able to remain hopeful.
Drawing on their experiences in gender justice, agriculture, environmental restoration, civic technology, and accountability, the participants reflected on funding, artificial intelligence, leadership, community change, and sustainability. The conversation showed that social impact rarely progresses in a straight line and that the strongest solutions require patience, listening, collaboration, and trust in communities.
CHANGING INCENTIVES IS NOT ALWAYS ENOUGH
Sathya explained that for many years he believed people’s behavior could be changed primarily through incentives and disincentives.
Over time, he came to understand that these incentives are shaped by deeper values and by the stories people believe about themselves, their communities, and the world.
Promoting change therefore does not consist only of offering rewards or establishing penalties. It also requires transforming the narratives that define what is considered valuable, possible, or desirable.
Elsa connected this reflection to her work addressing sexual and gender-based violence. On some days, she sees progress and changes in social norms; on others, the scale of the cases creates a sense of moving backward.
Experience shows that impact is not permanent or automatically cumulative. A change of government, a crisis, or renewed cultural resistance can reverse progress built over many years.
Oluseun summarized this reality by stating that social impact does not follow a straight line. Organizations need to combine patience and impatience, optimism and realism, hope and critical awareness.
FUNDING THE SOCIAL SECTOR
Elsa noted that one of the least discussed issues is how social impact work is funded.
There is an expectation that people working for a cause should do so for free or with minimal resources. However, social development is a professional field that requires talent, research, technology, evaluation, and institutional capacity.
Small grants are often accompanied by disproportionate administrative processes, excessive restrictions, and timelines that are too short to produce profound transformation.
There is also little tolerance for failure. While businesses can invest large amounts in research and experiment with products that do not succeed, social organizations are often required to demonstrate immediate results.
“If we want to solve these problems, we need to invest in the people working in the sector.”
Oluseun added that young organizations face even greater challenges. Although they may have strong ideas, they may not yet have the track record, relationships, or technical language required to access funding.
Through BudgIT, they are developing Air Fund, an initiative designed to support civic innovations in secondary African cities and provide resources to emerging organizations.
A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
Sathya proposed connecting social impact work with a broader understanding of self-interest.
People and organizations often act with immediate benefits in mind. However, when the horizon is extended to twenty or twenty-five years, community safety, gender equality, environmental regeneration, and economic sustainability also become matters of self-interest.
Rather than presenting these investments solely as altruistic actions, they could be understood as the social and environmental infrastructure necessary for everyone’s survival and prosperity.
The question is not whether people are selfish, but whether their understanding of their own well-being is sufficiently broad and long-term.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND UNPAID LABOR
Oluseun raised a concern about the relationship between artificial intelligence, public information, and social impact work.
Organizations, communities, and citizens produce large amounts of information, knowledge, and content without receiving compensation. Technology companies use these materials to train systems, improve products, and increase their economic value.
He shared the case of information collected by BudgIT on local governments in Nigeria. An AI system was initially unable to answer a question because the data was not publicly available. After someone else extracted and published the information from BudgIT’s website, the AI began using it to generate responses.
This creates an inequality: knowledge is produced through social or community work, but its economic value may be captured by private companies.
The conversation highlighted the need for clearer discussions about ownership, recognition, and compensation for the data and content used to develop artificial intelligence.
LISTENING TO COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE
The participants shared experiences in which communities exceeded their expectations.
Sathya recalled conversations with local populations involved in environmental restoration projects. Without using technical language, people were able to identify invasive species, changes in ecosystems, and shifts in rainfall patterns.
Farmers did not necessarily speak about “climate change,” but they precisely described rising temperatures, pests, and the growing difficulty of determining when to plant.
“Let us not try to be interesting. Let us try to be interested.”
When organizations listen with genuine attention, communities offer authentic diagnoses and possible pathways toward solutions.
Julia connected this idea to women who had completed Poverty Stoplight assessments. One participant in the Philippines said the tool allowed her to be honest with herself. Another woman in Tunisia said she could recognize what she had, what she wanted to change, and which actions she needed to try.
AGENCY AND PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
Elsa shared stories of young women who used information, mentoring, and collective organization to transform their lives.
In one community, several girls experienced harassment while traveling to school. They were afraid to report it because their families might decide that they should stop studying. After participating in workshops, they anonymously collected their experiences and used the data to request dedicated school transportation.
In another case, a teenage girl was about to leave school because of a marriage arranged by her family. Contact with professional women and support from a mentor allowed her to negotiate a postponement of the marriage.
The young woman completed her studies, trained as a beautician, opened her own business, and was later able to provide a home for her parents.
These experiences show that agency is strengthened when people have access to role models, information, and spaces where they can express their aspirations.
COMMUNITIES THAT DO NOT WAIT PASSIVELY
Oluseun presented the experience of Tracka, a project that monitors primary healthcare centers in Nigeria.
Although communities continue to demand that the government fulfill its responsibilities, some decided to directly address small and urgent needs, such as replacing light bulbs, repairing doors, or purchasing basic containers.
In approximately 87 of the 200 communities observed, people mobilized their own resources to make improvements.
This does not eliminate the State’s obligations. It demonstrates that citizen participation can combine demands for accountability with a sense of ownership over public services.
For Oluseun, democracy is strengthened when citizens stop viewing participation as an abstract idea and recognize that public institutions and resources belong to them.
HOPE, HUMANITY, AND MUTUAL SUPPORT
At the end of the main conversation, Julia asked each participant to complete the sentence: “Despite everything, I still believe…”
• Sathya: Responded that he still believes in humanity’s ability to come together and solve problems when people recognize a shared crisis.
• Oluseun: Emphasized that kindness lies at the heart of progress and should guide how we treat people, the environment, and ecosystems.
• Elsa: Stated that people find a way forward when they learn to ask for help and allow others to support them.
• Julia: Concluded by saying that she still believes in change that begins one household at a time through genuine listening to people and their own priorities.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• How can the structural barriers that perpetuate poverty among women and girls be addressed?
Elsa explained that addressing individual cases of violence is not enough. It is necessary to combine education, data, institutional change, and engagement with public authorities.
Safecity enables people to report experiences anonymously, identify patterns, and make visible what normally remains hidden. The information is then presented to police departments, educational institutions, transportation authorities, and local governments.
The data can guide the placement of cameras, strengthen prevention, improve protocols, and create relationships of trust between institutions and communities.
It is also necessary to recognize the intersection between gender, employment, health, education, and poverty. Elsa noted that many women perform much of the agricultural work but are still not recognized as farmers. In certain contexts, they even undergo harmful medical procedures to avoid interruptions to their work.
Understanding each local reality is essential to transforming not only the symptoms, but also the structures that generate inequality.
• If funding disappeared, what would you continue doing?
Oluseun responded that he would continue denouncing corruption, the misuse of public resources, and the lack of accountability. His primary commitment does not depend on a funder, but on his responsibility to citizens. Funding makes it possible to expand the reach of the work, but it does not define its purpose.
Elsa agreed that she would continue working to address gender-based violence, although with fewer resources she would be able to reach fewer people.
• What should funders ask more often?
Sathya noted that before asking about metrics and results, funders should take an interest in the well-being of the people and teams sustaining the organizations.
Social impact work can be difficult and lonely. Many leaders face pressures they never imagined when they began.
Asking how people are doing is not merely an act of empathy. It also protects impact, because organizations depend on the well-being, energy, and continuity of the people carrying out the work.
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