Why did you pick your topic?

Our project is about water. But hopefully viewers see that this is really the story of a bunch of changemakers taking matters into their own hands and, in creative and committed ways, tackling the problems about which they are passionate. As much as we hope people watching these videos will learn about water-related challenges, we hope that learning about the innovative solutions of African social entrepreners like Kardiatou, David, and Joseph will inspire us to think about new ways of tackling global problems and supporting citizens with global solutions.

How did you learn about Kardiatou, David, and Joseph and the work that they are doing?

These three have a number of things in common: they have bold new ideas for how to better tackle widespread problems and are passionate about making change in their communities. They are also each Ashoka Fellows who are part of a global network of leading social entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries. We both work for Ashoka so we know the work of Kardiatou, David, and Joseph well, but anyone can learn more about them and some 2,500 other Ashoka Fellows at www.ashoka.org/fellows.

Did you have any funny moments during the making of your submission for this contest?

Since Wil handled both the camera operation and editing, you can't tell from the finished product that he fell asleep during shooting and spilled hot tea all over our set, his computer, and the floor. That was all edited out. But a blooper reel would contain audio of Simon (who tackled set design and directing) calling for a cut, trying to wake up Wil, and then a mad scramble to save our project.