Countrywide initiative by Bridge Budapest to help the development of 20,000 children in Hungary

Edisonplatform is a new think-tank community created by Bridge Budapest. The platform aims to connect value-oriented business actors with child development experts and foster their long-term cooperation. Rita Veres and Nikolett Barta (leaders of the project) announced at the TEDxYouth@Budapest conference that the platform would be a place to bring together corporate actors and NGOs, share best practices, and acknowledge outstanding achievements. Sigma Technology is proud to be one of the cool companies to support the platform.

Rita Veres, Edisonplatform Strategic Lead, said: "The pressure is increasing on parents, children, and teachers alike to prepare for the challenges of the future. This issue cannot be addressed by the education system alone and we cannot expect schools to find a solution on their own. Fortunately, more and more innovative for-profit and non-profit initiatives and creative teachers are becoming passionate about adapting to the new challenges, and more and more companies are thinking responsibly. Our goal is to better connect NGOs, for-profit, scientific, and education actors concerned about the future of children, to collect best practices worth learning from, to create new knowledge, and to develop how children and adults think. We would like to make an impact on the lives of over 20,000 children and parents by 2020.”

100 is only the beginning

One of the cornerstones of Edisonplatform is Edison100, a list of knowledge-based educational initiatives by for-profit and non-profit organizations developing primary school children in Hungary in innovative ways. Nikolett Barta, Operative Lead, said: “We would like this platform to be a place for collecting best practices and creative development programs. Edisonplatform is much more than a list. We want to offer real assistance and guidance to parents seeking help in how to develop their children. Our long-term goal for Edisonplatform is to be a credible guide where parents start looking.”

When selecting the initiatives to be included, the expert jury (Gondolkodó Kör) took into account the following aspects: innovative either in scope, methodology, or approach; develops skills and knowledge relevant to preparing children for the future; makes a real impact. The eight categories used by Edison100 to group the initiatives are Science, Digital World, Business, Creativity, Health, Sustainability, Conscious Upbringing, and Opportunity.

“The list does not prioritize or rank organizations, but rather brings together those that are regarded as outstanding by the invited experts and develop those skills in children that will be much needed in the future. We will update and extend the list every year so we can showcase as many best practices as possible to an ever-widening audience,” Barta added. Edison100 becomes accessible by the public on 20th May at www.edisonplatform.hu.

Anyone can vote for the organizations on the list until 1st June. Mid-June, Bridge Budapest will present the People’s Choice Award and announce the winner of each category selected by Gondolkodó Kör.

The community starts with Gondolkodó Kör and cool companies

“We’ve created Gondolkodó Kör to provide a professional foundation for Edisonplatform. As we believe in the advantages of multiple points of view, we have gathered an exciting, diverse and inclusive community: teachers, developmental psychologists, children’s rights experts, celebrity parents, artists, and writers—people who support our work with their expertise and experience, and have also helped draw up the Edison100 list,” said Veres.

The initiative aims to bring for-profit organizations to the movement both as active supporters and as public faces. “We are looking for cool companies that want to demonstrate to the public what their employees think about the future and their children’s lives in it. We would like to find companies that have a clear understanding of their responsibility in forming the job market of the future, and in enabling the next generation to live happy and balanced lives, and to find their places in the world. It is not only the logos that we want but also the people behind the brands — their thoughts, their feelings, their dilemmas. I’m glad we have already found such companies,” added Veronika Pistyur, CEO, Bridge Budapest.

So far 11 cool companies have joined Edisonplatform. They have made it possible to launch the project and will be helping us shape the future. The organizers call those corporate actors cool because they go beyond providing outstanding financial support and are also personally committed to the initiative. Together with their employees, they will actively participate in the research necessary for the success of Edisonplatform. The people behind these companies are Péter Bodor from Aegon, Éva Virág Uzsák from Aon Hungary, Judit Szűcs from Cappy, Katalin Márton from Praktiker, and the leaders of Unicredit Bank and BP. New supporters are Eszter Varga, leader of Pannonhitel Zrt.; Péter Árvai, CEO of Prezi; György Nagy, CEO of Sigma Technology Hungary; Andrea Vidó from Gyerek Sziget; and the team of Arm Hungary.

Following the announcement on 13th April, Edisonplatform is inviting other cool companies to join until 20th May.

The members of Edisonplatform’s Gondolkodó Kör are:

● Al Ghaoui Hesna - editor-journalist, writer

● József Balatoni - history teacher, writer, trainer, expert, and advocate of experiential learning

● Dr. Szilvia Gyurkó - children’s rights expert

● Dea Frankó-Csuba - futurologist, former leader of Spark Institute

● Csilla Fuszek - director of the European Talent Centre - Budapest

● Dorka Herner - psychologist, coach

● Annamária Kádár - psychologist, university lecturer, trainer

● Marietta Kókayné Lányi - leader of pedagogy at Gyermekek Háza, teacher, lecturer in pedagogy

● Antónia Mészáros - executive director of UNICEF Hungary

● Miklós Nagygyörgy - one of the founders of Apaépítő project

● Lisa Móni Tibenszky - founder and executive director of the School of Responsible Parents

● Tamás Trunk – member of generation Z, influencer, writer

● Éva Uzsák - executive officer of Aon Magyarország Talent Solutions

● Ádám Zeitler - founder of Milestone Institute

About Bridge Budapest

Bridge Budapest in an NGO created by Hungarian entrepreneurs in 2013. Among its founding members are internationally known brands such as Prezi, NNg, Ustream, and LogMeIn. The organization aims to develop the existing business culture in Hungary by connecting and making visible value-oriented business actors with long-term strategies: the business sector, NGOs, and individuals looking for an opportunity to develop. Bridge Budapest has already launched successful initiatives such as ‘Vállalható Vállalkozás’, a self-auditing and self-certification system designed to acknowledge the transparent operation of small businesses; and ‘Bridge Bizniscool’, an experiential business workshop targeting children aged 8-14, available in 30 locations in Hungary.

Webpage: www.edisonplatform.hu

Expert jury (Gondolkodó Kör)