GUEST ENTRY

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My name is Sebastian Stjern and this is my story.

One year ago I worked as a technical project manager at Volvo. I was in the comfort zone and even though I had a comfortable life I had a dream to do something different. The automotive crisis hit me with a hard blow, but it turned out to be a serendipity. I got the chance to do something completely different.

Together with my wife Lina, a former concert pianist, I decided to start a company called The Fair Tailor. We sell Fair Trade tailor made shirts over the internet. You can design your shirt almost any way you want. Change collar, cut and cuff – Have it your way!

What makes a concert pianist and a project manager to start that kind of business? Well, we went to China on a holiday last year and we discovered the amazing feeling of tailor made shirts. We started thinking about how we could start that kind of business, but we didn’t just want to start a normal clothing brand. We wanted to something Fair.

We got in contact with a Swedish entrepreneur living in Nepal. He put us in contact with the organisation Child Watabaran Center Nepal (CWCN). CWCN is a NGO, they have a childrens home and a school for street children in Kathmandu. They were interested in becoming more self sufficient. I got on a plane to Nepal, met with their president and convinced them that they should work with us. That was in April.

We have just started production in Kathmandu, our website is released and a world of possibilities lies before us.

If you are interested in starting some sort of business, any business, the important thing to remember is to not be afraid to contact people. If there is someone you think can help you, call them up or send them an e-mail. It might be Bono, The Prime minister, someone at the customs department or someone you went in first grade with. You will not get response from everybody, of course, but if you don’t contact anybody you will not get any help at all. 

I would also like to encourage you to ask “How?”. How has this been done? How can we do it better? How can we do it even better? How can we do it even better than that and for half the cost?

One example is a Facebook group we’ve started. For every member we donate 1kr (€0,1) to CWCN. Instead of posting an ad in a magazine we benefit from this AND CWCN benefits from it. CWCN gets money when we get a fan AND they get money when we sell a shirt. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Our website is available in Swedish, please check it out at http://www.TheFairTailor.com

And remember: Dress responsibly.

/Sebastian Stjern, The Fair Tailor

During the climate change conference weeks in Copenhagen, some 190 talks and panel discussions will be held in the people’s climate summit, Klimaforum09, and here things will sometimes be said that don’t necessarily fit the politically correct agenda of COP15. I find myself in the audience of the open discussion session “Tackling Capitalism and the climate crisis” where the tone is harsh and the words are blunt when speakers lay out the facts and ideas of how root causes of climate change are inherent in the social relations of capitalism. It’s hard to argue against that capitalist accumulation is the main cause of man effected climate change. “In the last hundred years, the only times the CO2 level has been dropping is during serious economy crises and if we don’t understand the old capitalism and find a new good driver for economic growth we won’t be able so solve the climate crises”, the speaker argues. I’m thinking of the enormous dilemma the world’s political leaders are facing. Not only during these extremely important weeks in Copenhagen but every single day. Because how to accept the fact that we have been and still are building modern society on a formula that is not at all sustainable. The western world is built on the pillars of economic growth as if growth could be infinite. That we live on a finite planet have not been a concern up until now. And what are our leaders to do when an alternative driver is so hard to accept, and invent?

When Tim Jackson presents his ideas on “prosperity without growth” in the session “From globalization to localization of life and economy”, I’m once more filled with hope. The sustainability adviser to the UK government shows us how the old system based on income, credit and spending can’t continue. And he as an idea of how to do it. Another world with a new economic structure is possible, and why wouldn’t it? Part two of the talk is today, Thursday at 1 pm. Looking forward to it.

When not in the seminar rooms the people of Klimaforum is interacting around the many stands and exhibitions in DGI-Byen. In the halls things are buzzing. We are discussing new innovations, religion, politics, looking at acute climate effects and drinking coffee all at once. People networks are intertwining, business cards and folders passed around. The 2020 Climate Solutions Meshwork provides great tools of interaction and immediate collaboration. YourClimate.TV are broadcasting live from a small studio hosting a wide diversity of people from all over the world. Hope and frustration are ever-present and I’m glad to have the opportunity to take part of it all.

If you are in the vicinities of Copenhagen, come by and join the summit!

By Johan Rutherhagen, SE Forum

GUEST ENTRY

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When I first heard about the social network www.Ideasforchange.tv was via JMK (the department for Journalism Media and Communication), where I had studied and from where I graduated last year. I was immediately interested to find out more about the project and thought what if I could make a difference and contribute with my ideas.

“Ideas for change”, was really like lovely music to my ears: “the right idea meets the right problem”. I could imagine myself be fully engaged in this project, to be able to contribute with my ideas.  It was not a question about how to contribute; the whole project was so clear and brilliant in my eyes that I did not hesitate before I contacted the project manager Daniel Daboczy (who later became my new boss at the web-agency Dabber TV, but that is a whole different story that I’d love to share next time).

I thought: this is my big chance to increase the awareness about global warming. This is my big chance to increase the awareness about children’s rights and the perspective of the child, a term used by researchers in cultural studies. More importantly, this was my chance to engage people and make them contribute with their ideas. Sometimes you only need the right voice to actually understand that you do not need to be a part of a NGO, a governmental institution etcetera to make a change. After a few seconds on www.ideasforchange.tv you will understand that it is like the whole planet has collected the very best ideas on a web site and you realize that it can only grow bigger and wiser. So many voices. So many faces. So many tears. So much pain. All floating next to each other, like an universe of its own called: ideas for change. 

Most recently I realized that social entrepreneurship is a matter of trying, a matter of acting rather than just reacting.  It is awareness about the fact that we all actually can make a difference and have a responsibility to contribute with our ideas to turn up the volume against injustice and rise together to fight and literary create a better world.

Some say that you cannot change the world in one day. I most certainly agree. However, who said that you cannot change your attitude in one day? 

On friday the 4^th of December the artist Shakira was one of the eminent guests at the popular show Skavlan and said “we all need to be political but we do not have to be politicians”. Well put Shakira! I share her point of view and must say that a political act is not monopolized by those holding the greatest power or those voices that are too noisy today. WE must never forget that we all have the power and possibility to make our voices heard, internet is the best listener in these times. The outcome of the presidential election in Iran and the anger and disappointment it caused is one of many examples. The people of Iran screamed and we all heard their voices. Imagine if they had thought that their voices could never be heard? We all have a responsibility to share our ideas and knowledge, so I truly hope to see more contributors on Ideas For Change and more arguments to reach a better world.

/Viola Zabeti, Ideas For Change

In the nearest we will start to present the texts from several invited bloggers on our SE Forum blog. The principal idea is to every week let conversant, inspiring and innovative people contribute with their views and personal stories on social entrepreneurhsip but also related topics such as social engagement, activism and responsible entrepreneurship. Although the topics might vary depending on who is the author of the blog entry, the important thing for us is to give wise voices more space on the web at the same time as we offer our readers and members different perspectives of social entrepreneurship.

First out will be Viola Zabeti with an inspiring text about her experiences from Ideas For Change and on how everyone can contribute to a better world just through a change of attitude.

If you like Viola are striving for a better society, if you are a social entrepreneur or an activist in your branch or every day life – don’t hesitate to contact us for this new blogging project. We believe that Sweden needs strong voices within the area of social entrepreneurship and as a result we welcome new inspiring and devoted people that are willing to contribute with their perspective of the field.

If this sounds interesting contact us at create[at]se-forum.se and don’t forget to check out Viola Zabeti’s blog entry during the coming week!

In December 2007 I partcipated at a Global Journey hosted by the organisation Pioneers of Change. The theme for the Journey was to understand sustainable communities and learn from them. Among other things we had wild discussions about the COP15 conference and how to create attention and awareness on climate change and to take action.

One of the people I met in the Brasilian atlantic reinforest was Julie Abitz. She is one of the founders and hosts of Survival Academy, an initiative to share knowledge and take action on climate change during COP15. This is how they define their work:

“We need to share responsibility as citizens, employees, consumers, social entrepreneurs, politicians, activists, leaders, and members of communities and organisations to meet the challenges of the world at this time.”

Hosted events range from change labs, deep democracy, open space seminars, to learning for future business moves and how organisations are creating financial value by adressing climate change.

So, don’t waste your time, take action and if you are in Copenhagen, don’t hesitate to participate in the events Survival Academy are hosting. Read full programme