Social innovation aims to create positive change, but a good intention does not automatically make a solution ethical. Projects, campaigns, digital tools, and other initiatives can unintentionally harm, exclude, or misrepresent people when their needs, rights, experiences, and voices are not considered from the beginning.
In this activity, you will explore one of four short ethical dilemmas:
A campaign about youth mental health
A Social Impact NFT for poverty awareness
A digital platform for young people with disabilities
Online training for marginalized youth
First, choose the scenario that interests you most. You will then make several decisions about the situation and receive feedback explaining the possible ethical consequences of each choice.
As you work through the scenario, consider:
Who could benefit from the proposed solution?
Who could be harmed, excluded, or misrepresented?
Whose voice is missing from the decision-making process?
Are informed consent, privacy, dignity, and accessibility respected?
What safeguards could make the solution fairer and more responsible?
There may be more than one possible response. The purpose is not simply to find a “correct” answer, but to examine the consequences of different decisions and practise ethical thinking before taking action.
At the end, you will complete a short Ethical Impact Check by applying what you have learned to the local social problem you selected earlier in the course.
Select Continue to view the four scenarios and choose one to explore.