The paper tells the story of Sekem, an initiative that started in a small plot of desert land in Egypt that has transformed its surrounding natural and societal landscape. In addition to establishing a successful organic farming enterprises, Sekem has created a holistic development model that encompasses different aspects of life, from education to architecture, health and the arts. Focusing on Sekem, this paper presents empirical material on how social innovation can happen, how it addresses major societal challenges and how it can bring forth change in a complex setting such as Egypt. The paper employs anthropological theory and methods, and is based on extended periods of ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a decade in Egypt. Drawing on prominent definitions and processes of social innovation, this study demonstrates that Sekem is an example of social innovation that blends agricultural and educational activities, as well as Western and Eastern paradigms, particularly anthroposophy and Islam. Sekem’s explicit goal is to bring forth systemic change through a comprehensive programme that envelops economic, social, and cultural life, and the environment. The paper concludes by opening up the current theoretical and epistemological discussions on social innovation to the work of anthropologists studying cultural change and the contemporary.[Author’s abstract].
Papageorgiou, Kyriaki (2013) Healing nature, transforming culture : a story of social innovation in Egypt (Paper presented at the international conference Social Frontiers : The next edge of social innovation research, at GCU's London Campus on 14th and 15th November 2013).
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