King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain today received the audience at the Royal Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid. Since the outbreak of COVID19, it was the first palace audience that the royal couple received. Earlier in the morning, Felipe and Letizia met a group of seven estartaperos (founders of “start-ups” and emerging entrepreneurs). The seven young social entrepreneurs were part of the Ashoka association, based on social innovation as a “social tool to get out of the crisis”.
The group was led by María Benjumea, creator of the South Summit initiative that was launched in 2012 in Madrid and constitutes a model of success that so far has managed to group 3,700 startups and connect them with 1,100 investors.
The representation of technological and social innovators have expressed their way of seeing the future and the role of innovation, in different sectors, to improve the recovery of Spain after the COVID pandemic. They also stressed the importance of finding new paths, through emerging entrepreneurs, for the present and the future of the country.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended a meeting of the South Summit in Madrid in 2013 and, two years later, Felipe also attended another meeting of this initiative. Both meetings were recalled today during the audience. The next edition of the South Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Madrid between October 6 and 8, 2020, will take place, as a consequence of the circumstances caused by the pandemic, through a combination of face-to-face and virtual meetings.
Next, Felipe and Letizia particularly met with the three social entrepreneurs from Ashoka and three young agents of change to discuss social innovation. Ashoka has been identifying social innovators who solve problems effectively and systemically for more than 40 years. Its founder, Bill Drayton, received the Prince of Asturias Award for Cooperation in 2011. Its global network has 3,600 Social Entrepreneurs in more than 90 countries.
According to a study organized by the organization in 2019, 74% of these innovators who work for the common good manage to change the legislation or public policies of their country to make them fairer. In addition, 90% have facilitated the replication of their idea by other entities, within or outside their countries. And nine out of ten recognize that Ashoka has helped them strengthen their leadership.
The three Social Entrepreneurs of the foundation and three young agents of change specialized in different sectors have shared today with Felipe and Letizia that the objective of Ashoka and its network of leaders in social innovation is to activate Spanish society with a common purpose, guided for empathy, and having the necessary skills to change their environment for the better.
Ashoka has transferred in the meeting the 10 keys that they propose to achieve prosperity in society through social innovation, with a systemic approach: before this new game, we re-imagine the role of citizens, and especially of young people, in the society, where all people discover their power to contribute to the common good and feel the responsibility to act.
Now to What Letizia Wore – Queen Letizia chose her black Carolina Herrera Polka Dot Wrap Dress that she first wore in January this year to welcome the baseball champion team at the Palace.
Letizia paired the dress with her black Carolina Herrera slingback pumps.
Her bezel stud earrings finished the look.
