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Connecting island stakeholders and facilitating conversations that drive community-led change

Our mission is to drive sustainable change across islands and rural areas around the world. We want to help island stakeholders share best practice and knowledge to help drive economic performance, ensure political stability and promote good governance. This improves the social and environmental conditions within remote and rural communities, in addition to creating a stronger and more cohesive global support network.

We understand the importance for the international community to start listening to people on islands and in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These communities have vital knowledge that can significantly help poorer nations and developed countries become more sustainable, and teach us all about how to live more harmoniously with the natural environment. 

The four-pillar approach at Island Innovation ensures we engage all key stakeholders and consider the cumulative impact on citizens:

Economic

We aim to grow the economic prosperity and quality of life of island communities, by promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and helping to foster innovation, and more sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Political and Governance

We are committed to ensuring local island policymakers are empowered to generate informed decisions to bring about transformative change, are engaged in strengthening democratic institutions within islands, as well as helping to revitalise international political partnerships to achieve the SDGs.

Social

We are focused on fostering strong social bonds that hold communities together, including reducing inequalities within and among countries and achieving gender equality, by giving local communities access to innovations and platforms, and joining with NGOs and other social enterprises to ensure projects are successful.

Environmental

An environmentally sustainable future is crucial for the well being of all life on earth, so we strongly support green projects which protect, restore and promote sustainable use of the land, as well as blue projects which conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
10,000+ virtual island registrations
127,000+ Community members
25,000+ Newsletter readers
+100 Articles Published
+300 Island Ambassadors
10 Academic Partners
+40 Partner Institutions
38 Government speakers
Who we work with
We work with the  private sector, NGOs, government, utilities and universities
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Our team
Get to know the amazing people who make Island Innovation possible
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Join our Ambassador Program
Learn how you can help us build more sustainable islands 
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Become an Island Innovation Fellow
Join the team and gain work experience on sustainable projects
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Working towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Island Innovation funded?

We are a social enterprise which means that we charge for a number of our services whilst guaranteeing free attendance for our virtual events. You can learn more about our services here. We have also formed a large and growing international network and if you align with our vision, support the Sustainable Development Goals and drive positive change with an innovation or project, we can champion your work on our platform. 

Our upcoming event is the Virtual Island Summit in September 2021; if you are interested in sponsoring this event, click here.

How does Island Innovation support all SDG goals?

The work that Island Innovation does supports all of the Sustainable Development Goals. For example:

Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: We are involved in helping to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This is done through working with companies like EnergyX which are involved in the development of innovative renewable energy technology that will help to completely revolutionise the sustainability of the way we travel and the energy we consume. 

Through our virtual events, such as the Virtual Island Summit which had thousands of attendees, we have been able to connect sustainable technology and science experts with governments, local policymakers and island communities. Through this global network and the formation of a global community, vital information has been disseminated to remote communities worldwide, showcasing innovative technologies that can be used, and ways to transition local economies towards providing sustainable forms of employment and giving practical advice on how to become more resilient to global threats such as COVID-19 and climate change. 

Goal 12 – Responsible consumption and production: Before the global pandemic, thousands of people travelled all around the world every year to attend conferences and events, including events designed to tackle climate change. By contrast, Island Innovation runs one of the largest sustainability events in the world and it is completely virtual, with no need to travel, thus avoiding the massive levels of carbon emissions associated with large scale events. At the Virtual Island Summit 2020, we had over 10,000 sign-ups from all across the globe, including some of the most remote island communities in the world. During the summit, there were fascinating presentations given by many different experts on a range of different topics including the latest renewable energy and sustainable transport technology and how to create successful virtual events. Through our work, we also strongly support remote work and are keen to enable islanders to transition to working remotely so they can stay within or return to their islands and help to be part of building innovative, sustainable and resilient island communities. 

Does Island Innovation employ island residents?

Yes, and we are keen to hire more in the future. Christian Zacchino is in charge of our social media, research and communications, and is an islander from Margarita Island, Venezuela. Isabel Godoy is our ambassador coordinator and grew up on Navarino Island in the capital, Puerto Williams, the southernmost city in the world. Audrey Joachim is our director of operations and growth and grew up in the French West-Indies island of Guadeloupe. To discover more about our team click here and if you are interested in working for us, please see our careers page for current and future opportunities.

What is a social enterprise?

A social enterprise is defined as:

an organisation that aims to make money in order to serve a useful social purpose.

We do this through:

  • Non-profit programs
  • Making sure events are free
  • News platform is free 
  • Support projects which promote our values 
  • Clients must support our mission (screening process)

Where do you work?

Island Innovation was set up to operate on a completely remote basis, meaning our team corresponds together via online tools. Our team can work anywhere, from major cities to small remote island communities, as long as there is a reliable internet connection available. We believe that remote work is a tremendous opportunity, as it enables islanders to stay in their communities, thus being an important facet of sustainable development.