Eruption of social innovation as global gathering hatches plan for a new economy

The erupting Icelandic volcano could not scupper a global gathering of social entrepreneurs who meet in San Francisco today for the third Social Enterprise World Forum.

Social enterprise leaders from the UK have joined those from the US, India, Africa, Australia and many other nations for the three-day Social Enterprise Alliance organised event.

They include Peter Holbrook, CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition, who is a keynote speaker on one of tomorrow’s opening plenary panels about forming partnerships with government.

Antonia Swinson, CEO of the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition, Pradeep Jethi of the Social Stock Exchange Ltd, Uday Thakker, managing director of business support organisation Red Ochre and Gerry Higgins, CEO of Scottish social enterprise support network CEiS are just some of the UK’s social enterprise representatives at the event.

The theme for this year’s event, which doubles as the US’s 11^th Social Enterprise Summit, is ‘new approach, new economy: realising the potential of social enterprise’.

SE Alliance chair Jim Fruchterman, who also attended the Skoll World Forum and Oxford Jam, said: ‘Social enterprise is no longer an isolated experiment. It has moved into the mainstream across the globe. For-profit and non-profit social enterprises are proliferating, the public sector is paying attention to our brand of social innovation, academic institutions are offering courses and degree programmes, social investors are knocking at the door, the media has enhanced its coverage and a rising generation of young people are energising the field.’

The world forum includes a variety of trips to successful social enterprises, including Juma Ventures, one of the most inspiring social enterprises featured at the first world forum in Edinburgh in 2008.

Panel plenary sessions include discussions on engaging all sectors, shaping a new economy, thinking differently and advice on how to change when things get hard by the forum’s guest speaker, author Chip Heath. There are also more than 50 breakout sessions and a range of networking opportunities taking place across the three days, as well as an expectation of many more off-the-cuff events.

Swinson told Social Enterprise she was attending the forum for the American perspective.

‘I'm looking for great ideas about how to tap into philanthropy investment, in cash or kind,’ she said.

‘How can we sell what we do, better? The US social enterprises have never had public sector support and instead seem to operate within a culture of expectation that anything is possible because people with money like to buy into miracles.'

If you are in San Francisco, Social Enterprise would like to hear about the events you’ve been to, the people you’ve met and what you’ve learned. You can also follow the forum on Twitter at socent10.

Find out more about the world forum at http://se-alliance.org

You can also keep up to date by reading the many blogs about the world forum in our blog directory.