Solution #1
Crowdfunded Microloans
Matt Flannery
Kiva, USA
Big Problems Need Working Ideas
Change Nation is built on a simple belief: we do not need to start from zero. Around the world, entrepreneurs, educators, reformers, and community leaders have already developed effective responses to unemployment, inequality, education gaps, healthcare failures, environmental decline, exclusion, and social fragmentation.
This initiative brings those solutions into one place and asks a powerful question: how can Ireland adapt proven ideas to local reality? From microfinance and youth employment to sustainability, disability reform, and peacebuilding, these examples show that meaningful change is possible when practical innovation meets civic ambition.
At a Glance
55
Proven Solutions
20+
Countries Represented
8
Major Themes
1
Shared Goal: Practical Change
What These Solutions Cover
The ideas span economic opportunity, education, civic participation, environmental resilience, healthcare improvement, disability inclusion, homelessness, peacebuilding, and social innovation.
Jobs & Enterprise
Education
Environment
Healthcare
Youth
Inclusion
Community
Public Reform
Featured Solutions
These 55 ideas come from founders and organizations with a track record of real-world impact. Each one represents a concrete response to a clear challenge.
Solution #2
A Social Stock Market
Celso Grecco
Attitude, Brazil
Solution #3
Tax Things, Not People
Bill Drayton
Get America Working, USA
Solution #4
A Coding Generation
James Whelton
Coder Dojo, Ireland
Solution #5
Self-Financed Communities
Jean Claude Rodriguez-Ferrera
CAF, Spain
Solution #6
Nurturing Young Entrepreneurs
Jerry Kennelly
Young Entrepreneurs, Ireland
Solution #7
Microcredit Lending
Muhammad Yunus
Grameen Bank, Bangladesh
Solution #8
Youth Self-Employment
Norbert Kunz
IQ Consult, Germany
Solution #9
High Quality Careers for Youth
Rafael Alvarez
Genesys Works, USA
Solution #10
Mentorship for Immigrants
Sofia Appelgren
Mylife (Mitt Liv), Sweden
Solution #11
Changing the Way Cities Work
Sascha Haselmayer
Living Labs Global, Denmark/Spain
Solution #12
Online Community for Change
Ben Wald
Changemakers, USA
Solution #13
Community Funded Playgrounds
Darell Hammond
Kaboom!, USA
Solution #14
Tech Solutions to Social Problems
Daniel Ben-Horin
Techsoup, USA
Solution #15
Real Political Accountability
Gregor Hackmack
Candidate Watch, Germany
Solution #16
Retirement With Purpose
Marc Freedman
Civic Ventures, USA
Solution #17
Engagement for Older People
Mary Nally
Third Age Foundation, Ireland
Solution #18
Fighting Global Corruption
Peter Eigen
Transparency International, Germany
Solution #19
Empathy for Kids
Mary Gordon
Roots of Empathy, Canada
Solution #20
Making Maths Easy
John Mighton
Jump Maths, Canada
Solution #21
Young Scientists
Hanne Finstad
Scientist Factory, Norway
Solution #22
Fighting Poverty With Technology
Rodrigo Baggio
CDI, Brazil
Solution #23
Free Education Online
Mike Feerick
Alison, Ireland
Solution #24
Targeted Funding for Teachers
Charles Best
Donors Choose, USA
Solution #25
Social Innovation in Education
Erin Krampetz
Ashoka U, USA
Solution #26
More Play for Healthier Kids
Jill Vialet
Playworks, USA
Solution #27
Running for Confidence
Molly Barker
Girls on the Run, USA
Solution #28
Tackling Education Inequality
Wendy Kopp
Teach For America, USA
Solution #29
Skills for Conflict Resolution
Eric Dawson
Peacefirst, USA
Solution #30
Financial Skills for Kids
Jeroo Billimoria
Childline, India
Solution #31
Money Skills for Young People
Lily Lapenna
Mybnk, UK
Solution #32
Farming for Conservation
Brendan Dunford
Burrenlife, Ireland
Solution #33
Valuing Urban Ecology
Ignace Schops
RKLM, Belgium
Solution #34
Food Self-sufficiency
Michael Kelly
Grow It Yourself (GIY), Ireland
Solution #35
Youth for the Environment
Ricardo Bertolino
Wate and Youth, Argentina
Solution #36
Functioning Without Cheap Oil
Rob Hopkins
Transition Towns, UK
Solution #37
Bringing Nature Back Into Cities
Geoff Cape
Evergreen, Canada
Solution #38
A Slow Food Movement
Carlo Petrini
Slow Food, Italy
Solution #39
Cutting Energy Consumption
Johannes Hengstenberg
C02 Online, Germany
Solution #40
A Path to Sustainability
Karl-Henrik Robert
The Natural Step, Sweden
Solution #41
Patient Voices in Healthcare
Albert Jovell
Spanish Patients' Forum, Spain
Solution #42
Technology for Better Medicine
Sanjeev Arora
Project Echo, USA
Solution #43
Transforming Long-Stay Facilities
Bill Thomas
The Center For Growing And Becoming, USA
Solution #44
Revolutionising Mental Healthcare
Krystian Fikert
My Mind, Ireland
Solution #45
Creating Healthy Lifestyles
David Egan
Redbranch, Ireland
Solution #46
Exercise for Older People
Jean-Michel Ricard
Siel Bleu, France
Solution #47
Putting Ability First
Caroline Casey
Kanchi, Ireland
Solution #48
Ending Chronic Homelessness
Rosanne Haggerty
Common Ground, USA
Solution #49
Autism As an Advantage
Thorkil Sonne
Specialisterne, Denmark
Solution #50
Job Creation for the Excluded
Jean-Marc Borello
Groupe-SOS, France
Solution #51
Building Peace in the Community
Eva Marszewski
Peacebuilders, USA
Solution #52
A Values-Based Prison System
Faustino Garcia Zapico
Ute Villabona, Spain
Solution #53
Empathy in Darkness
Andreas Heinecke
Dialogue in the Dark, Germany
Solution #54
Overhauling Disability Treatment
Madeleine Clarke
Genio, Ireland
Solution #55
Support System for Disability
Al Etmanski & Vickie Cammack
P.L.A.N, Canada
From Inspiration to Implementation
The power of Change Nation lies in showing that solutions already exist. The next step is not merely admiration, but adaptation: learning what works, understanding why it works, and building the partnerships needed to apply these ideas in Ireland.
Review All 55 Solutions