Social Entrepreneurship Forum

1st Asia Social Venture Academy 2011

Elaine Ng — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:00:33 +0000

The Social Venture Academy is the leading opportunity for visionaries to explore their passion for social change, collaborate with social entrepreneurs on globally impactful innovations, in order to make a difference in their communities now.

For the first time in Asia in 2011, the Asia Social Venture Academy recruits the 200 brightest and most daring young leaders from around Asia and globally to work alongside social entrepreneurs on their challenges and ventures during a powerful five-day social entrepreneurship program in Hong Kong. Don’t just listen to speeches – work alongside social entrepreneurs!

”FYSE offers a focused opportunity to dialogue with the most interesting “movers and shakers” working in social entrepreneurship in China and worldwide. I left the meeting inspired, refreshed, more informed, and ready to make inroads in my own career in social entrepreneurship and Fair Trade alongside new colleagues and friends!” Teresa DelLaurentis, previous event participant

The Academy challenges to…
1. Connect with fresh knowledge, tools, advice, and a network of like-minded leaders in the field of social entrepreneurship
2. Make an immediate difference by applying new skills and creativity to solve established social entrepreneurs’ biggest challenges.
3. Go beyond the one-off event. This is the catalyst for the formation of a passionate and skilled tribe of Changemakers, committed to creating a positive change in communities around the world

Speakers

Joe Mediath, Founder Gram Vikas (India)
Melissa Yeung, Founder Got Heart (Philippines)
Bunker Roy, Founder Barfoot College (India)
Anant Kumar, Founder LifeSpring Hospital (India)
Jonathan Hursh, Founder Compassion for Migrant Children (China)
Sam Goldman, Founder d.light (Hong Kong)

… and many more! >

Further information:
http://www.fyse.org/social-venture-academy

Application
If you are ambitious, innovative & socially aware, with a strong passion for social entrepreneurship, and between the ages of 20 – 35 years of age, we want to receive your application! Delegates are accepted on a rolling based, so apply early!
Academy fee: USD350
Date: 19th– 22nd May 2011
Early Bird: 31st December 2010
Application Deadline: 15.2.2011
http://www.fyse.org/social-venture-academy/registration/
ASVA 2011 is organized by the Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship (FYSE) http://www.fyse.org

Neonurture: Car-parts Incubator

Elaine Ng — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:05:53 +0000

Every year over four million infants in the developing world die within a month of birth. Half of these newborns would survive if given a warm and clean environment in which to grow stronger. In developing countries, not only is there limited access to modern, high-tech incubators, but a lack of infrastructure and replacement parts render such devices worthless.

Design that Matters’s goal is to develop a newborn incubator for the developing world that takes advantage of locally-available replacement parts, the familiar mechanical language of automobile design, and globe-spanning auto-industry supply chains to create a context-appropriate product that can be locally maintained.

Neonurture: Car-parts Incubator has been nominated for the “People’s Design Award” category for the 2010 National Design Awards. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is asking for the public to vote on their favorite designs through their website. This is a wonderful opportunity to raise the profile of this important newborn health project. So do cast your vote for this meaningful project here!

Syinconnect 2010: Design for Social Innovation

Elaine Ng — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:24:19 +0000

What?

A radically different two day event/experience that mixes social innovation, design thinking, and energetic youth to create _____________ (social change, empowered youth, unforgettable memories, and who knows what else?)

Who?

Aspiring or active changemakers (roughly of university and polytechnic age)

When?

October 16-17, 2010

Where?

Singapore Polytechnic

Why?

A better question is: why not? Why aren’t more youth actively involved in social change? Why don’t they feel like they can truly make a difference? Why don’t we change that?

What?

Who?

Aspiring or active changemakers (roughly of university and polytechnic age)

When?

October 16-17, 2010. Register by October 10, 2010!

Where?

Singapore Polytechnic

Why?

A better question is: why not? Why aren’t more youth actively involved in social change? Why don’t they feel like they can truly make a difference? Why don’t we change that?

A sponsor is covering all costs of successful applications, so you won’t have to pay a dime!

For more information?

Please contact James Norris at james@syinc.org or call (65) 8290 0163

NeueMethode@SG: National Social-Business Proposal Competition

Elaine Ng — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 02:49:13 +0000

If you have an idea and is desperate for feedback, coaching and funding, this competition is designed for you. Participants are entitled to workshops that would provide professional advice and mentorships on ways to improve their social business proposals. Winners would receive cash prizes and opportunities to pursue local internships or AIESEC Global Traineeships in social enterprises.

Neue Methode is German for new method that introduces entrepreneurship with social conscience. It is a competition run by youths and for youths to maximize their potential to become successful entrepreneurs, who at the same time make positive impacts on society through their businesses.

NeueMethode@SG is a project by AIESEC in National University of Singapore (NUS) and is co-organized by the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy and supported by NUS Business School Alumni Association.

Deadline for submission: 3 October 2010
To register and for more information, visit www.neuemethode.com

Rotary Youth Social Entrepreneurship Challenge

Elaine Ng — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:06:43 +0000

If you are a budding social entrepreneur who is ready to walk the talk or you are already in the midst of doing so, then the Rotary Youth Social Entrepreneurship Challenge (RYSEC) might just be for you.

Through the competition, RYSEC hopes to encourage the social entrepreneurs in youths by providing assistance in securing funding, and more importantly, in gaining support from a network of experienced business people in Singapore.

Submission Deadline: 23 August 2010

For more information, do visit the RYSEC website at http://rysec.sg/

Sustainability: Changing the way we change the world

Elaine Ng — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:40:06 +0000

For the next installment of Green Drinks Singapore, guest speaker Steve McCoy from Green Drinks Kuala Lumpur will examine the environmental movement in the world today and share about how we could contribute. He is the founder and principal of Counterpoint, a consultancy firm which provides sustainability-related support services for corporate, government and non-profit sectors. He was also the CEO of the Force of Nature Aid Foundation which works on recovery of communities affected by natural disasters.

Date: 29 July 2010 (Thursday)

Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm

Venue: Artery, Red Dot Traffic Building, #01-04, 28 Maxwell Road

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121829344528406&ref=nf

Children Are Us Foundation

Elaine Ng — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:52:47 +0000

OUR SPECIALITY:

Freshly baked goods, such as cakes and bread, and western cuisine served by the intellectually challenged, who are professionally trained by vocational teachers and practicing chefs.

THE INNOVATION:

The Children Are Us Foundation (CAUF) provides intellectually challenged young people of age 16 and above with training in skills that are practical in daily life and for work so that they might better integrate into society. At CAUF’s workshops, which are purposefully situated in busy areas of the city where students are visible to the public to dispel public ignorance and discrimination, they learn skills from baking pastries for sale to growing their own vegetables.

Children Are Us also operates cafes, bakeries restaurants in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu where some of their trainees are employed. Though workers might not be as efficient, through time and training, they perform their tasks adequately and with enthusiasm. To aid the learning process, tasks are simplified into simple steps where students are assigned to according to their abilities. And through employment, the young ones gain greater confidence and fulfillment in life.

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

CAUF chairman Su Kuo-chen and wife Hsiao Shu-Chen inspired by the sheltered workshops and communities they saw in Japan, brought the idea back home to Taiwan. Impressed by the level of service and quality of the products there, Hsiao, herself a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, was encouraged that with proper planning, training and hard work, her child might too be capable of holding a good job.

With the help of skill training and recipes from the Le Petit Prince Bakery, CAUF opened its first social enterprise, the Children Are Us bakery in Kaohsiung in 1997. It has since grown to operate five bakeries and restaurants in Kaohsiung, Taipei and Hsinchu. As of the year 2000, 51 percent of its funding from its business operations, 25 percent from private donations, 22 percent from the government, and 2 percent from fundraising events or bank interest.

The non-profit organisation, which was founded in 1995, hopes to change the general perception of the intellectually challenged as well as create job opportunities through training them to work in their social enterprises. Children Are Us, too, provides assistance to them in leading an independent life as much as possible and long-term care for them when their parents pass on.

Travel with Love

Elaine Ng — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:50:52 +0000

When she was a little girl, Zheng Chu Yun loved to watch airplanes flying across the sky and she even chased after them. Though she could no longer do that post diagnosis with muscular dystrophy, she made a vow that one day she would sit on the plane and let it bring her to wherever she wished to go.

She has since done that and much more. She brings many others like her on board with her travel agency, Love Travel Co. Ms Zheng who shares her vision, challenges and experiences running the Taiwanese social enterprise with SEforum.

1. Could you share with us on how Love Travel Co came to existence?

In 1998, as the President of Taipei Young Female Chamber, I organized a group tour to Singapore for physically challenged citizens. We managed to gather enough donations from the public for 40 participants as well as 46 volunteers as funding for the tour. Still, we were selective on our participants. They must be below the age of 40, never been overseas before, belong to the low-income group, and are physically disabled. However, there were over 200 people who wished to register for the programme.

With so many people interested, especially the elder ones, I promised them that I would start a tour agency to realize their dreams to go on a trip despite their physical difficulties. This is done in the hope that, the trips would give the people motivation to be self-dependent, contribute to the society and even take initiatives to help others. As such, Love Travel Co was born in 2000. My vision is to create a team of giving and amicable travel companions, including tour guides and team leaders, to be part of our special customers’ great memories.

Since then, Love Travel Co has been in operation for 10 years and we are proud to receive many recognition from the industry and our customers. The greatest one is upon receiving the Honorary Travel Agency Distinction Award in 2008.

2. When and what inspired you to set up Love Travel Co against all odds?

I entered the travel industry as a small assistant. And after two years of hard work, I brought my first group of customers to Korea. I was worried that my disability would make the trip inconvenient for me. To my gratification, they insisted on me being their tour guide, and they have helped me to go around places. Not only had they realized my dream, their encouragements also inspired me to make the wishes of others like me come true. Therefore, I started Love Travel Co as the first travel agency in Taiwan that caters to customers with physical difficulties. Also, I envisioned that some of its profits would go to helping the physically and financially challenged.

3. What are some of the interesting stories and/or challenges you met in the course of running andpromoting Love Travel Co?

Our most accomplished moments are bringing out the people

who did not get to go to the outdoors for a long period of time. For example, a young man, whose both legs were amputated, had been on the bed for 8 years. His biggest wish was to bathe in the sun and breathe the fresh air outside. As he was unable to use the normal wheelchair, we brought him out by an ambulance and a stretcher. After the trip, he became much happier and motivated, and started learning to use automated wheelchair. Now, he is actively involved in choir practices and performances, going around the city on his own.

As for our greatest challenge, it would be the limited numbers of wheel-chair friendly buses and hotels in the market. It is hence more expensive and difficult to go on a trip logistically.

4. Which are the most popular countries or areas in Taiwan that you have brought your clients to? Where are some of the areas you hope to bring them to in the future?

Japan is our most popular location as the country offers a very wheel-chair friendly environment. It is also considerably near to Taiwan. Singapore is a frequent location as well, though it is more difficult to rent a wheel-chair friendly bus there.

In Taiwan, there are still lots of potential for improvement on wheel-chair friendly facilities. I wish that Taiwan could become a great place to travel for the physically-challenged and I have been actively spreading the idea to the related industries.

5. Where do you hope to see Travel Love Co in five years time?

I hope that in 5 years’ time, Love Travel Co will be able to fund, purely using its profits, more people with physical difficulties to step outside of their house and see the world. We would like to be both a charity and a social enterprise.

Everyone has a dream. And I believe that by seizing each opportunity you are given, your dream could be realised.

Showcasing Taiwan’s Culture, One Artist at a Time

Elaine Ng — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:16:21 +0000

Barely a decade ago, Xiong was still unemployed, struggling to support himself despite being wheelchair-bound. Now, he is a well-known stone crafter in Taiwan, and has touched the hearts of many Taiwanese with the publication of his life story.

All this was made possible through Cornerstone Works, a social enterprise based in Taiwan. The organization helped develop Xiong’s interest in stone crafting. And with marketing assistance from Taiwanese social enterprise Lovely Taiwan, Xiong’s art works can be purchased in many other cities outside of a small workshop in Hualian town where it was produced.

To describe his experience, the humble man quotes a verse from the bible: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”

“When I first arrived in Cornerstone, I stared at the crude stones for 3 months. One day, I suddenly realized that the stones are just like me, ugly and raw. I often disliked myself, just like how I looked down on those stones. But deep inside my heart, I want to be someone to be looked upon, and then I thought the stones would be feeling this way as well,” said Xiong. “I picked up my burin (a stone-crafting tool) ever since that day, and began to converse with the stones in my special way.”

He added: “I really appreciate Lovely Taiwan for their help, the team has given me an impetus to work harder so that my stone works could tell their own stories to the rest of the people.”

And just like Xiong, many other local artists have received support from Lovely Taiwan to continue their passion.

Situated in the heart of Taipei, Lovely Taiwan provides a collective platform for all designers to exhibit and sell their wares at its small but elegant establishment. It boasts an admirable repertoire of over 100 unique handicrafts created by designers from locations all over the island, including rural or disadvantaged communities.

Examples of other delicate creations stocked by Lovely Taiwan are figurines constructed by well-known metallic artist Jiang Cheng Yao, hand-crafted organic soaps by students from special schools, and unique cases knit by the indigenous Taiwanese.

The social enterprise emphasizes the product values that go beyond mere profit such as a sense of community and the importance of cultural retention. One of its founders, senior media worker Xu Lu, pointed out that they hope to establish a platform that connects the people and the community through the products and the sharing their stories.

Giving the indigenous people an avenue to show forth their talent and skill without having to travel tremendous distances to bring their works to the market not only opens a window of opportunity for them but also connects them to the entire Taiwan.

But to achieve this is no minor feat: Lovely Taiwan’s founders have traversed across the country, visiting up to 130 communities to discover this rich variety of handicrafts, which reflects the distinct potential and style of its Taiwanese artists and communities. Through these efforts, a more holistic picture of Taiwan’s cultural heritage could then be obtained and shared with everyone else.

Still, being unique is not enough for products to succeed in the contemporary market; the products have to be given a chance to stand out. Hence,

Lovely Taiwan also ventured into giving advice and consultation to the artisans on product, image and packaging development.

Xu Lu cited an example: Handmade chocolates from Taichung Women’s Prison were simply wrapped with aluminum foil and contained in a zip-lock bag when they were first sent to Lovely Taiwan. The social enterprise would then dutifully repackage each piece with colourful, glossy wrappers before placing them in elegant, eye-catching containers. This gives products a better fighting chance in attracting the attention of potential buyers to take a closer look, whereby they would then notice the meaningful stories behind each product and its significance.

However, Xu Lu stressed that the foundation would not override the designers’ artistic integrity. Designers can be assured of retaining the avenue of expression and actualizing their ideas. The Lovely Taiwan Foundation was set up not to lead but to work hand-in-hand with these creative minds, supplementing their skill with solid marketing strategy. Lovely Taiwan also hopes to encourage other Taiwanese to set up local shops, and contribute to the community.

He added that Lovely Taiwan is just a small beginning for a greater scheme of action.

Just like how XIong has transformed the seemingly useless stones to meaningful symbols of love and beauty, by giving local talent from all over Taiwan a stage to shine, the foundation aims to achieve a sustainable development for the local industry and bring out the understated grace of the country through the products it carries.

Lovely Taiwan’s elegant wooden cat and dog figurines could be purchased at Do Things Different here.

LOHAS: The Next Consumer Swarm?

Elaine Ng — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:37:13 +0000

Learn more about the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) at ‘LOHAS: The Next Consumer Swarm?’ through speakers Adam Horler, president of Asia-Pacific LOHAS, and Tay Lai Hock, founder of Ground-Up Initiative. LOHAS represents a growing market segment of consumers who are particularly interested in issues of sustainable living, health and wellness, as well as ecology and the environment.

For this particular Social Conversation, organised by the Lien Centre for Social Innovation, there will also be a macrobiotic and vegetarian fare prepared by chef Alexandra Hsieh as well as a goodie bag from the Kranji Countryside Association for the early birds.

Date: 15 Jul 2010 (Thursday)

Time: 5.00-6.30pm

Venue: Glassroom Cafe, Level 2, School of Information Systems, 80 Stamford Road, SMU.

For more information, visit http://www.lcsi.smu.edu.sg/emailer/100715social_conversation.htm or email Jared Tham at jaredtham@smu.edu.sg . To register, go to http://www.lcsi.smu.edu.sg/prog_reg.asp.