Photo Credit RedBull media

Visions for the future:
the first Red Bull Ampahiko Connect the Alps

The goal of the Red Bull Amaphiko Connect the Alps was to come up with ideas for a more sustainable world. Last weekend marked the first time that 13 social businesses from Switzerland, Austria and Germany met at a three-day workshop in Steinberg am Rofan in the Tyrol to exchange ideas, network and transfer knowledge about a mutual sustainable future.
How could a city like Cape Town function in 40 years? What does a habitable island made of the ocean’s plastic garbage look like? How can we come up with solutions for a better world? These and other questions were the focus of 13 teams and innovators who were selected from 100 applicants and invited to come to Steinberg am Rofan to take part in the first Red Bull Amaphiko Connect the Alps in the German-speaking realm.

Mathias Haas PhotoCredit RedBull Media

The participating social entrepreneurs are convinced that there is more to life than just making money and having a career, but rather that it is also possible to create social business models, make a contribution to sustainability and give meaning to life. For the young Swiss start-ups Project Circleg, ZüriChips and Smartes Altern and their German and Austrian colleagues, the event presented a unique opportunity to discuss their challenges and ideas with like-minded people and experts.
How about leg prostheses made from recycled plastics that only cost a fraction of today’s orthopaedic products and can make life easier for people living in crises regions? What about using board games to show the older generation how digitalisation works? Or how about making sustainable gum from tree sap and bees wax? Their visionary business ideas encompass a variety of areas: food, donation platforms, change-making, second-hand clothing, leg prostheses made from recyclable plastic, upcycling for decommissioned solar panels and even neurofeedback for mental fitness. The creators of such exciting ideas met in the Tyrol on April 13-14 to exchange ideas and to learn from inspirational hosts as well as from each other. Horizons were expanded, inspirations drawn and experiences and knowledge shared through presentations by renowned industry professionals, panel discussions, workshops and socialising. That’s because many of the attendees were first-time business owners. But meditation, yoga, live music, delicious local organic food and a hike in the Alps were also on the programme.
One of the event’s highlights was a presentation by rock climbing legend Stefan Glowacz, who reported on his daring expeditions to the Himalayas and the Antarctic region and demonstrated in a unique manner the correlations between his adventures and business.
Red Bull Amaphiko Connect the Alps was a win for all involved. At the close of the event the participants praised the balanced combination of topics, inputs, concrete assistance and implementations. The invited experts from projects such as the Swiss start-up Power.coders or Ashoka and Unverschwendet also learned a lot and took away valuable lessons from the meet-up. After all it’s exactly the areas of social innovation and social business that need new perspectives because for once, competition is not the focus here. A better world can only be achieved if everyone is an active, dedicated participant in the process.

Groupshot PhotoCredit RedBull Media

About Red Bull Amaphiko

Red Bull Amaphiko is a worldwide programme and online community that supports and celebrates social entrepreneurs: people who use their talent, creativity and energy to create positive change in their community and encourage the general public to do the same. Red Bull Amaphiko helps social entrepreneurs bring about change. Selected social entrepreneurs are supported and given guidance with a unique development programme within the framework of a one-year fellowship. This programme entails workshops and individual coaching in the areas of project and personal development and public relations as well as access to networks and opportunities. The participants are connected to a team and a peer community so that their project has an even greater impact on the world.