Social impact as a plan of action

Social impact is a strategic initiative that seeks to address and resolve social injustices and global challenges. Meanwhile, publishing is a field that serves to collect and disseminate information, literature, and other forms of media to the public through either paid or free access. Despite being primarily associated with the literary world, publishing plays a crucial role in catalysing social change and addressing the various issues affecting human lives.

As a crucial component of social impact, publishing plays a pivotal role in creating awareness and promoting information dissemination on humanity’s various global challenges. According to several strategists, publishing is an indispensable tool in conveying information about the problems affecting people, the need to solve them, and how they can be resolved. In the words of Aspesi, publishing helps to facilitate the open sharing of educational materials. It promotes change in cultural and educational activities by accelerating discovery, enhancing access to knowledge, and promoting growth.

In addition to its awareness-generating role, publishing also identifies and implements innovative solutions to social injustices and global problems. Studies have shown that educational publishing gives individuals access to vast pools of knowledge, allowing them to determine the most effective ways to tackle issues and achieve the best outcomes. Meanwhile, publishing through analytical research helps to predict the feasibility of the solutions proposed to address these problems.

In the cultural and creative industry, publishing holds immense significance. As a means of transmitting information that dates back to ancient times, publishing books have cultural and educational implications. Moreover, by promoting innovative approaches to problem-solving, publishing opens new avenues for addressing social injustices without offending any parties.

Moreover, publishing with a broad audience helps to disseminate information on social challenges and their solutions to a larger population. Publishing can effectively spread awareness and promote problem resolution by targeting specific audiences.

For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the publishing industry played a vital role in ensuring that people were adequately informed about the new variants of the virus, its symptoms, and recommended practices to avoid infection. As a result of the lockdown, many people were forced to work from home, and publishing became one of the primary sources of information for many. Without publishing, many people would have remained in the dark.

Several organisations have utilised publishing to combat discrimination against girls, women, and other marginalised groups. Through publishing, these organisations have effectively communicated the need for support in communities that are often overlooked by mainstream media. Furthermore, organisations advocating for human rights have relied on published materials to gather information regarding marginalised communities.

Publishing and social impact are interrelated concepts that work towards similar objectives. Social impact focuses on addressing issues while publishing scrutinises the problem, evaluates available data, and proposes solutions for implementing necessary changes.

This phenomenon has been noted in several academic studies, including the Landscape Analysis report by SPARC (Aspesi, 2019) and the study on the role of publishing in the cultural and creative industry (Tomašević & Ljevak Lebeda, 2014). These studies highlight the significance of publishing in promoting social change and the importance of considering its implications for academic institutions (Aspesi, 2019).

In conclusion, publishing plays a crucial role in promoting social impact and addressing issues of discrimination and marginalisation. Its ability to scrutinise and provide solutions is a valuable tool in advocating for change and promoting human rights.