Workshop in the European Parliament
Brussels
27.04.2009, 16.30-18.30
hosted by MEP Richard Howitt,
EP Reporter on Promoting a European
Framework
for Corporate Social Responsibility
The economic crisis demonstrates that the the global economy has been on a wrong track. How could we get into such a difficult situation after so many years of apparently (?) positive development?
The global economy was not only de-coupled from care for the environment. It did not only initiate a "race to the bottom" regarding social standards, there was also a large gap between the "real" economy and the financial system. In the end, the financial system was not only disintegrated from environmental and social aspects, but it was even disintegrated from goods and services production, it lost external targets related to the society.
Now, we have to get back to the basics. The common definition of the economy is "Activities related to the production and distribution of goods and services". The economy therefore does not (or should not) follow a purpose of its own, but has a supporting role for the human society.
How to re-establish this functionality? The workshop in the European Parliament will study the possible role of SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP in a renewed market economy. Social entrepreneurship means that not only segments or add-ons of the economic activity are dedicated to the benefit of society, but that the whole economic activity of an entrepreneur is dedicated to solve the problems of society.
The event will show how the concept of social entrepreneurship evolved, how it is practiced and whether it could be applied to a wider field than in the past - in order to move the economy towards a more sustainable pathway.
Social entrepreneurship is a dynamic process
that incorporates a viable business model with a sound social mission. It generally
focuses more on adding social and environmental value than economic value. A social entrepreneur identifies and solves
problems on a large scale. Just as business entrepreneurs create and transform whole
industries, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing
opportunities others miss in order to improve systems, invent and disseminate new
approaches and advance sustainable solutions that create social value. Unlike
traditional business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs primarily seek to generate
"social value" rather than just profits. The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize
when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she
finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading
the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.
