Social Enterprise World Forum comes to SA

11 Mar 2011

The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) emerged from national social enterprise support agencies in the UK seeking a means to collaborate and advance social enterprise development throughout the world. For the first time, it will hold its annual meeting in Johannesburg, on 5-7 April 2011, hosted by the University of Johannesburg's through its Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Economy (CSESE) in the Faculty of Management.

Social Enterprise World Forum comes to SA

Social enterprises offer a sustainable and viable model to achieve the outcomes of poverty eradication and social development due to its non-dependency on grant funding. Using innovative and replicable business models, social entrepreneurs are able to create impact on a larger scale.

Dr Susan Steinman, the head of the CSESE, member of the International Steering Committee of the SEWF and convenor for the SEWF 2011 conference, confirmed the theme for this year's Forum will be Social Enterprise as a catalyst for sustainable development.

Speakers

National speakers include Minister Ebrahim Patel, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, and Jay Naidoo will deliver keynote addresses. International speakers include Liza Nitze (US), Gerry Higgins (UK), David Lepage (Canada), Ethel Cote (Canada), Kevin Lynch (Mission Incorporated) and Jerr Boschee (SE Institute, USA) will also be presenting.

Dr Susan Steinman, head of the CSESE

"The intention," says Steinman, "is to have a 'how to' approach that covers topics such as sustainability, performance and social impact. Our hope is that the Forum will enhance the understanding of the emerging field of social enterprise, with its primary purpose to address the social, environmental and economic challenges of our time."

This is the 4th forum, previous conferences being held in Scotland, Australia and the US.

For more information, email az.ca.ju@1102fwes.