AllGrow : empowering youth to craft social innovations

The AllGrow app strives to serve as a dynamic platform facilitating connections and empowering youth to craft social innovations through gamification and technology. By providing users with a suite of tools, resources, and inspiration, the app aims to empower them to effect change both locally and globally. Through AllGrow, users will have the means to cultivate solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing challenges, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while simultaneously developing crucial 21st-century skills and competencies.

AllGrow is a nonprofit organization from Romania working in the educational and community building space. AllGrow’s mission is to help build an inclusive society, in which all members have the tools, resources and opportunities to grow as empowered individuals. In the end, AllGrow is a community which creates spaces for collaboration with the aim of directly contributing to the development of children and youth, and indirectly of all those involved. This community building approach centered on students can be replicated in multiple contexts and countries. 

AllGrow started in 2017 with a draft curriculum which was tested with students in Romania. Since then, an entire educational ecosystem was built and reached over 8500 students (6- to 18-year-old) from Romania and Moldova, led by over 900 teachers. From enriching the curriculum with 3 different levels, integrating agile and design thinking, building a community of innovative teachers, and creating avenues for collaboration between corporations and schools. Through the years AllGrow continued to iterate, pivot, and bring in new resources and support to respond to community needs, wants and limitations. The organisation has recently been selected for a spotlight on Gamified Curriculum by HundrED and Supercell out of 196 submissions.

According to Eurostat, Romania has the highest share of children who are at risk of poverty and social exclusion 41.5% compared to the European average of 24.4%, percentage higher than the national average 34% (Eurostat, 2022). The educational system was not able to attract, prepare and maintain high performance educators and couldn’t provide students with access to practical, life context and authentic skills. Even if there are many educational initiatives and AllGrow’s work has contributed to children’s development, the situation is dire and AllGrow wants to do more to accelerate its impact and reach more children in Romania and beyond. 

Furthermore, Gen Z and younger are technologically savvy, and the internet is their go-to source for information, entertainment, social well-being, and so on. BrainBoxol demonstrated that Gen Z communicates primarily through handheld communication devices and accessories. They are self-sufficient and prefer to work with their peers to solve problems. According to Deloitte, Gen Z is more likely to engage in sustainable behaviors than any other group, demonstrating that the younger generation is more motivated to mitigate the effects of climate change and pollution and become more socially active. Being raised with technology provides Gen Z a natural advantage over previous generations, and traditional methods of teaching can become outdated. Gen-Z is motivated by a strong desire to make the world a better place, which drives them to self-learn and teach themselves how to do so. 

This rapidly changing world and the advantages the technology is offering is also determining AllGrow to make its work digitally accessible and go directly to students/beneficiaries.  

See what students say here

The AllGrow app is currently in the developmental phase. Their team has conducted extensive research to comprehensively understand users’ needs, desires, and limitations, as well as conducting market research to identify existing gaps. Their overarching objective is to harness the power of technology by creating a platform that mirrors our proven curriculum in the online realm, empowering users to develop essential 21st-century skills through the creation of social innovations that contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

The AllGrow app is designed to foster social impact by cultivating a community of changemakers who collaborate to address issues they are passionate about. Regardless of their background or cultural context, users will have access to the tools, resources, and support necessary to initiate positive change. By integrating the design thinking process, the app will guide users through the development of social innovations, encouraging them to act locally to effect social change.

Their approach utilizes a hybrid model that combines online learning with real-world interactions, enabling users to engage in meaningful actions within their communities. By facilitating this blend of online education and offline engagement, the AllGrow app aims to empower individuals to become catalysts for social transformation.

While the AllGrow app has not yet been deployed, the immediate objective is to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and pilot it with a cohort of 200 users aged between 14 to 25 years old, spanning both Romania and the USA. Through this initial phase, they aim at gathering valuable insights and feedback from users, which will inform further iterations of the app.

Drawing upon the lessons learned during this pilot phase, their intention is to refine and enhance the app to effectively reach a broader audience within their target demographics in both countries. It’s worth noting that while the app is still in development, their model has already demonstrated its efficacy in offline settings, where guided activities conducted by educators have successfully engaged over 8500 young people in Romania.

By leveraging the strengths of our proven offline model and integrating them into the digital realm, Allgrow wishes to create an impactful and user-centric platform that empowers individuals to become agents of positive change in their communities. Through iterative testing and continuous improvement, the team is committed to realising the full potential of the AllGrow app in facilitating social innovation and fostering the development of 21st-century skills among young people.

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