Filippo Addarii

Career

Addarii gained his first degree in philosophy at the University of Bologna in 1998, having been awarded the Leonardo scholarship for research at the University La Sorbonne, Paris in his final year. He went on to complete a master's degree in third sector organisation management at the University of Urbino, Italy in 2004. He did the New Next Generation of International CEOs course at the Cass Business School in London, the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme in France and the Strategic Management for Leaders of NGOs at the Kennedy School of Harvard University, USA.

Addarii began his career in 1999, organising contemporary art exhibitions to promote human rights as project manager of the Geneva-based NGO Art for the World, in partnership with multilateral organisations such as the UNHCR, WHO, and UNICEF. Less than two years later, he had established the NGO GlobaLab to promote intercultural dialogue in the Western Balkans. Addarii’s first project undertaken as a leader was an exchange programme between a football team of teenagers he found playing in a cemetery in Sarajevo - the only place safe from anti-person mines - and a peer team in his home town of Bologna. This attracted interest from Italian national broadcaster RAI2, which made a film to document the project. A year later, he ran the first post-war intercultural project in Novi Sad (Serbia), between local artists and artists from Rome.

From cultural projects, he moved into the anti-globalisation movement. This led him to pass briefly through the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (Brazil) and contribute to the Feltrinelli Foundation’s project to establish a documentation centre on contemporary social movements.

Addarii moved to London in 2004, recognising it to be the international hub of organised civil society, where he joined ACEVO, the professional body of CEOs of British charities.

Whilst establishing ACEVO’s international leadership development programme, he realised the need and potential for a European network to develop civil society leadership and social entrepreneurship(impact-first leaders) through peer-learning, and to influence the European policy and help it to respond to real needs on the ground through connecting impact-first leaders to policy makers.

Addarii established the Euclid Network in 2007, and was Executive Director from 2007-2013. During his tenure he initiated cutting edge advocacy projects, such as the review of the European funding rules for grants which affected hundreds of thousands of civil society organisations around the world, to realise the potential of a Europe led by engaged citizens. Representing pioneers from the beginning, Addarii today advises the European Commission on social innovation, social enterprise and social investments with a particular focus on how to engage citizens and mainstream civil society organisations.

From 2013-2015, Addarii was Director of International Strategy and Head of EuropeLab at the Young Foundation.

In November 2015, Addarii co-founded PlusValue, a social business focused on maximising social impact through innovative models for public goods and value creation. He is currently co-managing director of PlusValue.

In addition, he is an evaluator of applications submitted to and projects funded by the European Commission, Economic Social Research Council, and the Flemish Foundation for Innovation; a fellow in the European Center for Living Technologies (University Ca’ Foscari, Venice), Counterpoint (London); senior associate at Agirre Center for Social and Political Studies (Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain); Goodwill Ambassador of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund and World NGO Day Initiative; fellow of BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders (Germany); member of the advisory board at Imprint Etica; Nethical s.r.l. Italian company leader in e-healthcare; and a member of European Commission's Expert Advisory Group of Societal Challenge: 'Europe in a changing world - Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies.

Previously, he held a non-executive position in the impact investment fund Hub Launchpad (UK), in the French Movement of Social Entrepreneurs (Mouves); he was a member of the Italian Government’s expert group on social entrepreneurship and its advisory group that supports the G8′s Social Impact Investment Taskforce; he was part of the European Commission Expert Group on an Integrated Concept for Strategic Foresight and Social Business; a member of the European Commission's Strategic Policy Forum on Digital Entrepreneurship; and Co-Chair of Civil Society Advisory Group on Refom of the European Commission Financial Regulation.

Published Articles

Addarii has written a number of articles for online publications such as The Guardian's Social Enterprise Network and Civil Society. Most recently these have included: