EP31: What Does it Take to be a Social Entrepreneur with Ilaina Rabbat

In this interview we talk with the co-founder of the Amani Institute, a school for social entrepreneurship. What is a social entrepreneur, why is it important and what does the future hold? For as long as she can remember, Ilaina has been working actively towards social change. Born in Venezuela to Argentinian parents who were exiled due to the dictatorship, Ila learned from a young age the power of education to promote justice. As such, her career has focused on supporting people in making a difference in the world. Ila worked at the United Nations Argentine Youth Organization (OAJNU), serving on the Cordoba Region’s Executive Committee as well as on the National Board. She moved to Spain to work in the International Cooperation Department of the Youth Council of Galicia-Spain, supporting relations with the European Union. Given her experience, Ila was recruited by Ashoka’s Southern Cone office as Director of the Youth Venture Program. After working at Ashoka’s headquarters in Washington DC as Latin America and Global Campaigns Manger she launched Ashoka’s El Salvador office, where she built and managed a youth violence prevention program, which taught social entrepreneurship while promoting community cohesiveness. Ilaina serves at the Advisory Board of Open Society Foundation’s Youth Initiative. Ilaina has a Master’s degree in International Studies and in Peace and Conflict Resolution from Torcuato Di Tella University (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and George Washington University (Washington, DC). She earned two Bachelor’s degrees: in International Affairs, from Siglo 21 University, Córdoba, Argentina, and in Mediation from the University of Buenos Aires. She has represented Argentina at the World Youth Congress in England, the International Forum for Peace in Egypt, and the International Youth Meeting in Mexico. Consistent with her passion for education and learning from other cultures, she has worked on community-based projects in Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Haiti.