My Social Sabbatical Journey — week 1
A week has passed since I arrived in São Paulo for my social sabbatical. It’s been a whirlwind of new experiences, meeting colleagues from around the world, and amazing events. I feel deeply thankful to SAP and very excited to work on the project.
The first weekend kicked off with a beautiful sunny day on Saturday and a lunch in the neighbourhood with my colleagues. It was such a wonderful feeling for me to be able to enjoy the sun without a jacket after almost 5 months in Montreal.
Felipe and Fernanda from PYXERA Global, along with our mentor Johnny Miranda, have been instrumental in helping us settle into the new city. They took us for a walk in the neighbourhood and familiarized us with the nearest grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants.
Sunday was dedicated to team building activities, preparing us for the project, the country, the culture, and knowing each other. It is great opportunity to be working together with the SAP colleagues from 10 different countries all around the globe.
The kick-off meeting on Monday brought together all four host organizations: Carbono Zero, dedicated to sustainable green logistics; Asta, supporting local artisans and communities in need; Fundo Agbara, promoting equal opportunities for black women in Brazil; and Impact Hub, incubating startups and fostering innovation worldwide. These initiatives embody the values we strive to uphold. Their vision and passion for their work inspired and motivated us even more for the upcoming projects.
We then began our work with our host organizations, meeting our amazing project assistants who will be working with us. I am working with Simon Poll from Germany, Heather Walker from UK and our project assistant Luca from São Paulo on Impact Hub São Paulo project. This organization has been been working on impactful programs and initiatives since 2007.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at the São Paulo University Innovation Center, working in the co-working space alongside members of Impact Hub. Together with Laura and Carlos, we started to understand the organization, their programs and our scope of work.
On Thursday we visited Aya Earth Partners, one of the most beautiful co-working spaces in São Paulo. It is an ecosystem dedicated to accelerating Brazil’s regenerative and zero-carbon economy.
In the evening, we attended the launch of one of the Impact Hub’s programs for women entrepreneurs, called Salto. It was a humbling experience to meet these women who are starting businesses without even realizing they are entrepreneurs. We all got emotional when a woman in 60s explained with tears how this course will change her life. Their stories and dreams touched our hearts and inspired us even more for our impact projects. This will experience will stay with me for rest of my life.
On Friday, we thoroughly processed all the information to gain a better understanding of the project, organization, our role, our stakeholders, and completed our scope of work. In the evening, we enjoyed live music at a Samba place and immersed ourselves in the vibrant Brazilian culture.
Weekend was spent exploring the beautiful and vibrant city of São Paulo with the team.
We were impressed by the work of very talented artisans and artists in Brazil.
The first week has been a whirlwind of amazing experiences, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here will bring.
To continue reading — Week 2
