Idealists Topic Network
An entry point to the problem, a starting point for action
This network brings together social-innovation topics that have been repeatedly discussed, unpacked and tested across editions of the Forum. Topics are not merely categories; they are entry points to real problems. Behind each topic are changemakers, field practice and accumulated knowledge.
2026 Topic Network
Rebuilding a Sense of Place Through Arts Education in Rural Communities
How can arts education help us become whole again?
Rural communities are not only places of scarcity; they can also be fertile ground for vibrant arts education. Children run through rice fields, draw beside streams and sing beneath the stars. Rural arts education is not only an educational issue, but a question of how people recover their sensibility and capacity to connect.
Community Mental-health Services
How can services become genuinely accessible and sustainable?
Mental health should not be a luxury for the few. The real challenge is not how individuals rescue themselves, but how communities develop sustainable systems of emotional support and bring mental-health services into everyday life.
Migrant Youth and Theatrical Expression
When marginalized groups have the chance to speak, what will they say—and are we ready to listen?
Migrant children who grew up in industrial districts are now young adults. Through theatre, music and writing, they bring their lived experience to the stage. This is not the voice of ‘beneficiaries,’ but of individuals speaking for themselves.
AI Ethics Role-playing Mystery
How can AI help build a shield that protects individual dignity?
The role-playing mystery is fictional, but life is real. In an AI-ethics scenario, participants become decision-makers rather than observers and experience the complex relationship among technology, verbal abuse and individual protection.
Intangible Cultural Heritage and Brand Value
From border regions to first-tier city business districts, who defines the value of intangible cultural heritage?
Intangible cultural heritage is attracting attention, but the real question is not how to tell sentimental stories. It is how to build trust, connect local practice with markets, include artisans in the brand narrative and create a sustainable value chain.
Energy Management and Burnout Prevention
You may not be short of time, but short of energy.
Many people believe success depends on time management, but sustained action truly depends on energy management. For nonprofit practitioners and social entrepreneurs, learning how to go further without exhausting themselves is an urgent practical issue.
Supporting the Arts in the AI Era
New pathways for developing local arts funds
From a single presentation to the creation of a fund, arts practitioners are exploring a path of their own. In the AI era, art is not only aesthetic expression; it can also comfort and sustain humanity.
Elder Care and the Silver Economy
How can young people find opportunities in the silver economy?
Ageing is not a distant issue; it is already reshaping community services, family structures and livelihood needs. The silver economy is not only a business opportunity, but also a question of how social enterprises respond to real essential needs.
School Avoidance and Withdrawal Among Adolescents
When going to school becomes painful, who will support them?
School avoidance and withdrawal among adolescents are not solely educational issues; they result when family, school and social-support systems fail together. Social innovation must create new ways to support these young people.
Intellectual Disability and AI Accessibility
How can AI improve accessibility for people with intellectual disabilities?
AI should serve more than efficiency; it should enter the real lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Enabling technology to understand human differences and help more families participate in public life is a new frontier for accessibility.
Future Education
In the AI era, how can parents raise children whose human strengths cannot be replaced?
As AI performs more work, what capabilities do children truly need? Future education is not only about school reform; it can also take place in families, communities and social-innovation settings.
Corporate CSR / ESG
How can long-term commitment to social good find new forms of collaboration amid tighter corporate budgets?
When corporate budgets tighten, public-interest projects cannot rely on a single donation. A central question for the next stage of CSR and ESG is how companies can move from being sole funders to co-initiators.
Innovative Urban Business
How can spatial renewal lead to the reinvention of value?
The more efficient the digital era becomes, the lonelier people may feel. Businesses that genuinely care about people may not pursue the fastest growth, yet may create the rarest social value of the AI era.
Social-innovation Practice in Southeast Asia
Could the next social-innovation opportunity be in Southeast Asia?
Southeast Asia is becoming a rapidly evolving center of social innovation. Its large population, accelerating digitalization and many unmet needs create new opportunities for social entrepreneurship and public-interest innovation.
Disability Narratives and Communication
Beyond stories of hardship, what else can disability narratives tell?
Disability issues should not be defined only by narratives of hardship. A new challenge for disability communication is how fresh forms of expression can make the issue visible and translate directly into public action.
Running with Blind Athletes
How can support for blind people move from a slogan to action?
Running with blind athletes is not a slogan, but an action model that can be taught, replicated and expanded. Through immersive experience, participants turn understanding into the capacity to act.
Rural Community Building
How can rural community building sustain its vitality?
Rural community building is not only about preserving authenticity; it must develop practical, replicable models for long-term operation. Only by sustaining itself can a rural community become a warm, responsible and self-supporting platform for coexistence.
The Pet Economy and Human–Animal Coexistence
How can debate around the pet economy be turned into action?
Human–animal coexistence often brings debate. The key is not to avoid disagreement, but to turn it into public discussion, constructive communication and community action.
AI For Good Impact Investing
In the AI era, how can very early-stage projects for social good and social innovation receive appropriate seed funding and hands-on support?
A seed-funding and resource-support pathway for very early-stage AI × social-good innovation, helping social innovators connect real problems, AI tools and sustainable development.
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