Dear Reader:
In partnership with Social Innovation Exchange (SIX), we are very pleased to bring you our Spring/Summer 2013 edition of the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal (PSIJ), titled “The Next Generation Redefining the Global Workforce.” PSIJ is very excited to partner with SIX, as it is the world's primary network for social innovation and a reputable source for research, action and intelligence on social innovation.
One only needs to pick up our local newspaper or business journal or see the headlines on Google to recognize that we are facing a global education and workforce crisis. Our young people are not getting jobs and our educational systems are not preparing them for the work that the global labor market demands. In this edition, we invite you to learn from readers and organizations from across sectors and around the globe as they share their best practices and global innovations with the collective desire to accelerate innovation to meet the needs of a changing global marketplace.
Regional, national and global innovators will share information and discuss ideas about promising projects underway or in the pipeline that address the following:
- How do we create new economies across sectors that result in new jobs for younger people?
- How do we innovate across the global labor market systems?
- How do we create new job markets that support self-employment and develop new, more effective ways of linking individuals to work?
And that answer some of the tough questions:
- Are new employment economies driven by innovation/social innovators or established institutions and the public sector?
- What are high schools and higher education institutions doing to help young people prepare for new economies?
A special thanks to Steve Wray from the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia for being a sponsor and helping us think through this edition and the launch event, and to the Independence Foundation, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Public Health Management Corporation, Eisenhower Fellowships, Impact Philadelphia, Education-Plus, Inc. and Dr. Elizabeth Polizzi for helping to sponsor the edition and launch event.
As always, we want thank our other Journal advisory board members and funders, including the Scattergood Foundation, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, The Philadelphia Foundation, Public Health Foundation, Public Health Management Corporation, Independence Blue Cross Foundation, Green Tree Community Health Foundation, Independence Foundation, St. Christopher's Foundation for Children, Inglis Foundation, Barra Foundation, Knight Foundation, Bank of America, The Patricia Kind Family Foundation, Wells Fargo, Sage Communications, William Penn Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania.
It is not the first time PSIJ has addressed the issue of workforce and education innovations. To download our past edition on regional education innovations, please click here. The reason we continue to focus on this topic is that the need to redefine the Global Workforce is an issue we all will have to grapple with in the decades to come to assure we have a vibrant regional and global future. We hope The Next Generation Redefining the Global Job Market will inspire you to help accelerate the innovation needed to meet the needs of our changing global marketplace and its evolving young workforce.
Very truly yours,
Nicholas Torres, Publisher
Tine Hansen-Turton, Publisher