Resources

Your Detective Toolkit: everything you need to track down the root causes, unleash creativity, and become a future-ready social entrepreneur!

🔍 This section includes a hand-picked list of tools to guide your investigation: from research and analysis to brainstorming, designing, and presenting your idea. You’ll find AI tools, official portals, and platforms to support your creative and digital work.

🌐 Social Economy & Case Study Portals

1. European Social Economy Portal
   https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/social-economy_it
   → Understand the official definition and role of the social economy in Europe.
2. Social Economy Europe
   https://www.socialeconomy.eu.org
   → A European hub for news, resources, and inspiring social enterprises.
3. Ashoka – Everyone a Changemaker
   https://www.ashoka.org
   → A global network of social innovators with powerful stories.
4. International Labour Organization (ILO) – Cooperatives
   https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/cooperatives/lang–en/index.htm
   → Key insights on inclusion and the cooperative model.
5. Too Good To Go – Case Study
   https://toogoodtogo.com
   → A real-world example of a social enterprise fighting food waste.

📄 “The Root Causes of Inequality” – Oxfam Report
 https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/inequality

🎥 YouTube: “How to Solve Social Problems with Innovation” – TEDx
 https://youtu.be/7rL6gWJp7s8

📄 “Youth-led Solutions for Social Change” – Ashoka Youth
 https://www.ashokayouth.org/resources

🤖 AI Tools – Research, Analysis, Creativity

1. ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
   → Brainstorming, writing, cause analysis, ethical prompts… your AI assistant for everything!
2. Perplexity AI
   https://www.perplexity.ai
   → AI search engine for trusted, source-backed results — perfect for fact-based research.
3. Canva AI
   https://www.canva.com
   → Use Magic Design to build reports, presentations, and infographics like a pro.
4. Miro AI
   https://miro.com
   → Collaborative whiteboards and mind maps to organize ideas visually.
5. Uizard
   https://uizard.io
   → Turn text descriptions into editable UI designs and visual concepts in seconds.

🎨 Images and Visual Materials

1. Freepik
   https://www.freepik.com
   → Access thousands of templates, icons, and graphic elements for free.
2. Unsplash
   https://unsplash.com
   → Find high-quality free photos for impactful visual storytelling.
3. Pexels
   https://www.pexels.com
   → Discover royalty-free images and videos to enrich your final report.

💡 Learn, Reflect, and Think Creatively

1. AI for Social Good – by Matthew Stewart, PhD
   https://tdsarchive.medium.com/introduction-to-ai-for-social-good
   → A concise and inspiring guide to how AI can benefit people and the planet.
2. Community Needs Assessment – Guide
   https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources
   → Learn how to identify real needs in your community before solving them.
3. 25 Brainstorming Questions – Mural Blog
   https://www.mural.co/blog/brainstorming-questions
   → Power up your creative thinking with these essential idea-generation prompts.