On the 2nd – 5th of June, 2010, people from all over the world will gather at The 5th Global YES Summit – Rework the World. The question to be asked is simple: How can emerging entrepreneurial efforts be turned into transformative forces of change? This is an important question with implications for business strategies, financial markets and global policy making.

100 initiatives from around the world have been carefully selected to participate in this major event taking place in Leksand. Initiatives which could provide the jobs of tomorrow and help build a more socially, financially and ecologically sustainable world.

Join SE Forum at the conference in Leksand on June 4th at 8.30 a.m. Venue: Arena – Restaurant. We will present a summary of lessons learned from over 30 presentations conducted by Swedish social entrepreneurs since 2007. SE Forum has arranged monthly meetings over the past years where inspiring social entrepreneurs have shared their experiences and insights. At this seminar we will present a summary of these findings and host a discussion on how to become a real social entrepreneur.

For more inspiration visit http://www.reworktheworld.org/ and don’t miss our Facebook updates from the conference.

Did you know that SE Forum has a network and a social entrepreneurial platform with ability to connect social entrepreneurs with other social entrepreneurs, companies or organizations? Moreover, did you know that we can offer both help in the startup and the process of social businesses, as well as a possibility to run projects together with or under the name of SE Forum? We call it Social Entrepreneurship Support and we choose to offer it for free.

Find out more about the service here.

The 26^th of May, SE Bar will be hosted by The Good Guys – an innovation agency that takes on global challenges through the use of creativity. The Agency is working exclusively on developing business concepts and communication campaigns that create value for the world under the motto “Be The Change You Wish to See in the World”.

Jonas Pinzke is a creative manager and co-founder of The Good Guys. He will talk about The Good Guys recipes for solving difficult and complex global issues in an interesting, engaging and entertaining way!

SE Bar is a monthly event for anyone who has a heart for social and environmental development and equity issues, believes that many of our societal problems can be solved through business models and wants to meet other like-minded people. Each month we present a social entrepreneur that talk about his or her business idea and about the way to accomplish it. Stop by and get inspired!

 
Time and place:
Wednesday 26 / 5 at 17:30 to 19:00. The location this time is Centralbadets bistro. You find it most easily by entering through the entrance on Holländargatan 9 or through the entrance from Drottninggatan 88, subway station Hötorget, Stockholm.
 
No registration is required and feel free to invite anyone that would be interested. Find more information on SE Bar here. 
 

Due to that the auditor’s report were not completed at the time of the annual meeting, SE Forum will hold an extraordinary Annual General Meeting directly after the SE Bar to present the association’s audit report. The meeting is open to all, but only members may vote.

Good morning fellow communicators, friends and future colleagues. We just ran out of places to hide.

It is time for us to act. Time to deliver on our promise. 14 communication projects and 21 design projects are on display. Do we live up to our claim of being communicators of the future, or do we fall flat on our faces?

The fancy talking is over. We are already in. Are you?

What? Berghs’ End Year Exhibition 2010, Vernissage and Brunch
Vernissage for 14 projects dealing with communicating sustainability and 21 design projects where imagination is the only limit
Bransch-Brunch where the winner of A Sustainable Plan – The Award is presented 

Where? Berghs School of Communication, Sveavägen 34, Stockholm
Communication projects on the 3^rd floor
Design projects on the 4^th floor
Brunch and award ceremony in the Studio on the 1^st floor 

When? May 27, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.and Sunday May 30, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Award ceremony on Sunday starts at 1 p.m.

RSVP at http://sustainableplan.se/osa/vernissage and/or http://sustainableplan.se/osa/brunch

For more information about the exhibition, visit http://sustainableplan.se/about-the-exhibition/

Arne Forstenberg is the Executive Director of GlobalFOCUS. He came to tell us his story last Wednesday at the monthly SE Bar. The non-profit organization which started in the minds of four students only three years ago, has already been involved in 40 different climate projects. Their projects involve everything from energy competitions for students to analyzing energy policies in the European Union.

The only thing Forstenberg knew for sure when he went to a lecture held by the World Wild Fund for nature (WWF) a couple of years ago was that he wanted to somehow make a difference. He was studying political science at the time and didn’t know how he would achieve his goal. After listening to a very inspiring speech given by climate expert Dennis Pamlin he introduced himself to Pamlin and he later received an opportunity to present an idea with some friends to WWF. This is how GlobalFOCUS, a global project platform for climate entrepreneurs, was founded.

One of their first assignments was to review the climate platforms of the different political parties in Sweden. “I bought my first suit and we presented some well thought through and concrete ideas on what they could improve. Our ideas were very much appreciated and we were asked to pursue further collaboration. This was an incredible self-esteem boost for us, we were still students and yet we were able to influence politicians,” said Forstenberg.

He is careful to point out that not all of their projects or ideas during these four years have been successful though. “Lots of our projects have been completely useless and haven’t reduced green house gas emissions one bit. But that is what entrepreneurship is all about, if you never fail, you’re not an entrepreneur,” he said.

Another thing the founders of GlobalFOCUS have learned the last couple of years is to ask for help. “In the beginning, we tried to do too many things by ourselves, now we’ve learned that the key to a successful business is a combination of entrepreneurs and experienced advisors/partners.” He then reveals the name of one of their latest partners; Huang Ming. He is the chairman of Himin Solar Energy Group, the largest producers of solar heaters in the world. It was decided after Huang Ming’s visit to Sweden that GlobalFOCUS will establish an Innovation Centre in Solar Valley. Solar Valley is a national centre in China for manufacturing, research and development, education and tourism around solar energy technologies.

According to their web page, GlobalFOCUS supports any manner of innovation. They work with four categories of actors: Academia, Business, Civil Society, and Politics. Forstenberg ends his very inspiring speech by emphasizing the importance of bringing everybody along for the journey. “Clean tech innovations is one very important part of fighting climate change, but it is only one part of the solution. Work such as arranging theatrical plays to bring awareness on climate change is also going to be important”

Jennie Krook

On the annual board meeting on March 15, 2010, a new board of SE Forum was elected. After a successful year with our former board members, now we welcome a new group of talented and highly driven people to the organization. By this, we also look forward to a fruitful cooperation and further development of SE Forum’s activities.  

• MAJA FRANKEL
• ARNE FORSTENBERG
• ALEJANDRA FUENTES
• KJELL HASSLERT
• ELIZA KÜCÜKASLAN
• KARIN LARSSON
• HARRY MCNEIL
• JOSEFIN UHNBOM
• SARA WALLÉN

Get more information about the new board here.

Learn more about how Muhammad Yunus works with social entrepreneurship by changing the perspectives on banking.