Meet the new board member: Marco Barsoum from Sparks Production
Sparks Production is a Social Enterprise that develops structural solutions for social challenges. Through research, concept development, strategic management, and implementation, Sparks Production advises private and governmental parties on how to effectively and innovatively achieve their social ambitions.
Marco Barsoum, the new board member of Global Compact Network Netherlands, is the Founder of Sparks Production. From an early age, Barsoum has been passionate about how he can contribute to societal challenges, help individuals within his community, and fight structural inequality in society. With Sparks Production, his goal is to contribute to a new societal perception of ‘a successful company’. A perception that values social impact as much as financial returns. His goal is to innovate a revolutionary way of entrepreneurship with methods that put the social impact first.
Marco Barsoum
Founder, Sparks Production
”My goal with Sparks Production is to change the structural design in how we combat social issues and challenges. By inherently integrating self- sustainable concepts into our strategy, we can create projects that have societal benefits and contribute to societal problems in the long run.”
Sparks Production’s contribution to society
Barsoum seeks to help small, medium, and large enterprises primarily focused on financial returns in adopting a more “people-focused” approach to business. The goal is to create an accessible and long-term structure for industries to contribute toward human rights.
“For the community, within the community”
Before developing impactful solutions, Barsoum and his colleagues seek to understand the community’s needs and experiences. Typically, the experiences of those living in certain socioeconomic positions differ from the needs and experiences of those whom Sparks Production tries to help.
“One of our functions is to bridge the ‘language barrier’ between the two worlds– because they are two different worlds. Once we know the needs of the communities, we can ‘translate’ them into the corporate ‘jargon,’ i.e., the language of the people who can execute these changes.”
The SDGs are not one dimensional
At Sparks Production, they focus primarily on the social SDGs. Each project has a specific goal, for example, to reduce inequalities; however, in doing so, Sparks Production also promotes education, no poverty, and good health and wellbeing.
“What personal life?”
Barsoum lives and breathes the SDGs in both his personal and professional life. Perhaps a bit too much as his work tends to intertwine into his private life. His friends can find his determination to change the world endearing but also a bit bold; regardless, they understand his passion and strive to contribute similarly.
What sparks Barsoum’s passion for change is his humble upbringing. He was lucky enough to have supportive parents and capabilities, allowing him the opportunities to get to his position now. With his fortunate position, he devotes his time to giving back as much as possible.
Think about the future
Barsoum’s advice to companies and young professionals, “Think about the future, think about the year 2030. Look at the market and realize that there is a generation of individuals who are aware and knowledgeable about the future. These youngsters want to know how these products they consume affect the planet and the people around them. If companies do not start changing their processes now, the market for their products will decrease in the long run. We all are responsible for our planet and what we consume on it. You don’t need to look far away, just start with making a difference locally.”