Mohamed Amersi invited to share opening remarks at Oxford University’s Map the System 2020 Global Final

On Wednesday June 17th, Mohamed Amersi joined the virtual global final of Map the System 2020, hosted by Peter Tufano, dean of the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and Peter Drobac, Director of the Skoll Centre.

Map the System is a global competition incubated by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, that asks participants to use ‘systems thinking’ as a guiding approach to understanding complex social and environmental challenges. Unlike other competitions focused on finding the ‘silver bullet’ solution from the outset, Map the System offers an opportunity to dive into the complexity of the problem. Recognising the interdependencies in the world we live in, this unique competition encourages participants to slow down and build a deep understanding of the various layers of the problem they have identified. Teams are assessed on their understanding of the problem itself, identifying points of strategic intervention to set an example of systems leadership, highlighting the opportunity for collective problem-solving to reach a holistic solution.

Mohamed was invited to make some opening remarks at the start of the event. In his framing statements, Mohamed outlined the three interconnected elements to achieve systems leadership:

The Individual: The skills of collaborative leadership to enable learning, trust-building and empowered action among stakeholders who share a common goal;

The Community: The tactics of coalition building and advocacy to develop alignment and mobilize action among stakeholders in the system, both within and between organizations

The System: An understanding of the complex systems shaping the challenge to be addressed

Mohamed also referenced the CLEAR Framework as a process to catalyse Systems Change from the Harvard Kennedy School. The acronym stands for:

1. Convene and Commit Key stakeholders engage to address a complex issue of mutual concern by defining shared interests and goals and committing to working together in new ways to create systemic change.
2. Look and Learn Through system mapping, stakeholders jointly build a shared understanding of the components, actors, dynamics, and influences that create the system thereby generating new insights and ideas.
3. Engage and Energize Diverse stakeholders are engaged through continuous communication to build trust, commitment, innovation and collaboration.
4. Act with Accountability Shared goals and principles set the direction of the initiative, while measurement frameworks help track progress.
5. Review and Revise Stakeholders review progress regularly and adapt strategy, accordingly, permitting evolution and experimentation.

Map the System 2020 attracted submissions from 3,500 teams from around the world. The submissions were shortlisted into 31 semi-finalist teams and 6 finalist teams who presented their final pitches on the day itself. The six finalist teams are:

          University:
          Systemic problem identified

1. Ashesi University, Ghana:
   Poor Plastic Waste Management in Accra, Ghana
2. University of Chicago:
   Adolescent Pregnancy in Peru
3. University of Illinois:
   Menstrual Inequity in the US
4. University of North Carolina:
   Using systems science to advance health equity in  tobacco control
5. University of Rochester:
   Fatal opioid crisis of the US
6. University of Oxford:
   Women, Violence, and Modern slavery in Papua New Guinea and West Papua
7. The winning finalist team was University of Oxford, Problem: Women, Violence, and Modern slavery in Papua New Guinea and West Papua.

The recording of the final event is available here.