Sankofa is a West African concept that invites us to reach back to gather the best of what our past has taught us in order to reach our fullest potential as we move forward. In July and August 2020, EPIP held a series of virtual events that used the principles of Sankofa to meet this moment in history with a focus on Decolonizing Stories, Disrupting the Status Quo, and Embracing Collective Approaches to Healing. 

Recently, philanthropic futurist (and EPIP Minnesota chapter founder/former EPIP Board Chair) Trista Harris joined EPIP to talk about the ways that futurism can help the philanthropic sector imagine (and help create) the post-pandemic world.  The full talk is here but four pieces of wisdom that stuck with us were:

1) Stop loving the problem. Avoid making whatever problem or social issue that you’re trying to solve the sole focus of your work. Your discussions (both internally and with grantees) should be about what is being built in addition to what is being overcome.

2) Look for the future in the present. Make time to look at trends, best practices, and places where the changes you want to implement are already happening. You can always learn from the work of others.

Webinar Recap - "Dissonance & Disconnects" Report Briefing

Originally aired on September 27, 2018