The mission of the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship is to forge bridges across boundaries between minority communities in Europe and North America, particularly (but not exclusively) Jewish and Muslim. Over time, this is being achieved through building a network of social entrepreneurs and community leaders invested in empowering pluralistic societies, nurturing wisdom and collaborative leadership.
“The AdR Fellowship has been a forerunner in predictive disruption nearly 10 years ago by realizing that existing interfaith activities could not bring their desired impact to scale.
AdRF’s model combining entrepreneurship with social sciences advocates that doing good while doing business go hand in hand. It helps its fellows learn how to navigate uncertainty, act on future trends and contribute to the emergence of a new economic paradigm.
AdRF acknowledges that the challenge may not lie ultimately in people’s propensity to change, but in their ability to adapt to the pace the world requires”Ariane de Rothschild
Profile
Since its inception in 2009, the AdR Fellowship has been passionately committed to diversity, the promotion of cross-cultural and religious understanding, and the respect for human dignity. In a world where divisive forces polarize people and communities, these values are ever more urgent and vital.
There is already a large amount of interfaith initiatives but little focus addresses interreligious and cross-cultural relations from a social innovation and business-driven perspective. AdRF strongly believes that entrepreneurs and social innovators can make a huge impact on their environment and in bridging to other communities.
The Fellowship focuses on entrepreneurs from North America and Europe, especially from Jewish and Muslim communities, who demonstrate a proven commitment towards inclusion while at the same time strengthening the sustainability of their organization.
In particular, the Fellowship is looking for applicants:
- who demonstrate convincingly their potential for both economic self-sufficiency and social impact;
- with at least a tested proof of concept or (even better) a solid track-record in developing a socially impactful business in wide-ranging sectors ( housing, food, education, art, health, environment, technology…) ;
- and a commitment to empower under-served communities, reduce isolation and build collaboration with society at large.
The AdR Fellow is a visionary leader who challenges retrenchment and fear of the Other. She/he endeavors to make a real impact through developing innovative solutions and promoting inclusive collaboration.