Get to know the Activating Empathy Early Entry Award Winners

Ashoka’s New Year’s resolution for 2012 was more ambitious than most. We’re not cutting back on the caffeine, eating healthier, or exercising more frequently. But we resolved to make 2012 the year to jumpstart a worldwide movement for empathy, made official with the launch of the global Activating Empathy: Transforming Schools To Teach What Matters competition.

Three months later, we are seeing this resolution become a reality. Teachers, parents, students, and innovators have joined this effort to ensure that all children master empathy, a critical skill in today’s rapidly changing world. The competition has attracted more than 160 entries and nearly 400 nominations for ideas that create better communities, societies, organizations, companies, and institutions.

There is still time to get involved; the deadline for solutions isn’t until 5:00 p.m. (ET) on March 30. More than $110,000 in cash and in-kind prizes are still available to entrants!

In the meantime, we have decided to recognize a handful of our favorite solutions to date: the Activating Empathy Early Entry Award Winners:

Opening the Door to Parents - United States

Parents Forum, a nonprofit organization focused on developing emotional awareness, offers parents, children, and caregivers an eight-question social curriculum to better understand family dynamics and improve intergenerational relationships through honest, respectful, and caring communications.

Empathy Across Borders and Binders - United States (Global Presence)

Full-Circle Learning has created integrated education programs, materials, and services that help students practice empathy, resolve conflicts, and embrace their role as community change agents.

Morningside Center - United States
Morningside Center is a national leader in fostering student social and emotional learning (SEL) through a comprehensive classroom management and behavior system, Holistic Discipline. Morningside Center works with educators to celebrate differences and create more productive and empathetic classrooms.

Empathy is AOK! - United States

AOK is a social game integrated with a growing online community that makes sharing positive actions playful, rewarding, and impactful. Good deeds earn points, which then convert into real dollars for real-world charities and relief efforts.

Peking University H.S. International Division: Empathy in Practice - China

Peking University High School has embraced policies that discourage standardized testing, competition, and a results-focused learning environment, and instead emphasize individuality, diversity, and creativity. The school envisions the classroom as a community of collaborative learners with a commitment to social service in the 21^st century.

Each of these winning solutions has been awarded exclusive consultation sessions with Ashoka Fellows and experts from the empathy leadership team.

Do you have an idea to help young people learn and practice empathy in schools? Enter your idea (or nominate a friend) today and join the conversation on Twitter at #StartEmpathy!