Green Jeddah: Blog launch!

One of the six student groups from the US-Saudi Women's Forum on Social Entrepreneurship has launched its blog:
http://greenjeddah.wordpress.com/

A bit about Green Jeddah:

"Launched in July 2009, Green Jeddah addresses the lack of awareness with regards to environmental conservation within the city of Jeddah during a time of extensive industrialization and climate change. GJ is ultimately differentiated and driven by Islamic ideologies towards ecological preservation and waste management. So what are you waiting for? Live and let live - join us in our green movement!"

If you find any interesting stories, photos, studies, or emerging technologies, please send them along to: greenjeddah@gmail.com

Green Jeddah!

The final presentations have begun, and one of the groups already has a blog up for their project!

http://www.greenjeddah.blogspot.com/

Congratulations on a job well-done!

Students solidify their projects

We are more than half-way through the 2-week Symposium on Social Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and I am happy to say the impact is definitely visible.

Student groups have been working hard on their ventures, and are putting together their action plans. Yesterday we held a "nay-sayers" workshop in which facilitators of the program challenged assumptions, needs-assessments, etc... While it was challenging for students to have to backup and explain their ideas and plans, the projects have emerged stronger than before.

The program will continue to focus today on "Action Plans" and "Business Plans", in preparation for the final two days of the Symposium, which will be focused on finalizing plans and "pitching" projects to the faculty and facilitators.

We are all very excited to hear the final projects!

*Photo courtesy of Emily Tavoulareas, ICF International

Social Earth

Great site and resource!

http://www.socialearth.org/

And the Forum is on the front of their website!

Should all business be ethical or socially focused?

As a follow-up to the debate that we had today on whether or not all entrepreneurship was SOCIAL... see the video below, done by ClearlySo (referenced in an earlier post today), in the U.K.

ClearlySo - Social Business

Great resource!!! http://www.clearlyso.com/




I have added the link to "related links and resources" section in the left column of the blog.

The beauty of virtual communities...

12 countries created this virtually... who doesn't love social media?

Symposium, Day 2

Day 2 of the Symposium began with this:



We're off to a great start.

Symposium Launch

The Symposium has officially begun!

The program began over the weekend with a lively introduction to the campus and a film project in downtown Boston. Classes began on Monday, and were focused on splitting the students into the project groups that they will remain in through December.

Stay tuned for updates on the Symposium as it unfolds.

You can also follow us on twitter: @EmilyTav and #ussaudiforum

Symposium on Social Entrepreneurship

The time has finally come. Tomorrow morning I leave for Boston, where I will be linking up with all our partners and 30 students from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the 2-week Symposium on Social Entrepreneurship.

I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone that has made this program what it is, and I look forward to seeing what all the students will accomplish following the Symposium at Babson College.

The Symposium will be taking place on the Babson campus for the next 2 weeks, and is being implemented by Babson College, the Wellesley Centers for Women, and ICF International in partnership with the Middle East Partnership Initiative.

Stay tuned for ongoing updates during the Symposium- and join us for discussion in the comment sections!

Thoughts from Dr. Jan!

As we prepare for the quickly approaching Symposium at Babson, I wanted to share with you something Dr. Jan shared on the Women's Leadership blog:

So many of the things I thought I "knew" about that part of the world turned out to be either totally outdated, just plain myths, or often very Western interpretations of the reality.  

We hope that we will continue to learn from and about each other at the Symposium, and beyond. 

A College Enterprise...

A great, innovative enterprise to feed the hungry:

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"On one hand we have people who need food, and on the other we have us... who don't need all this food... so we kind of put it together..."


Simple concept- big impact.

College women serve Jeddah

Since the spring semester of 2007, students at Dar Al Hekma College (an all-girls college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) have given 14,000 hours of their time to serving their community.  

The "Social Responsibility Unit" at Dar Al Hekma is the unit through which students complete the 100 hours of community service required for graduation.  

Students have thus far spent their hours visiting, planning, and designing activities at various organizations throughout Jeddah, as well as fundraising activities, and advocacy work for non-profits. 

While these activities are not necessarily "social entrepreneurship", it is clear that:

1)  Interest in community service and responsibility exists throughout the Kingdom, and especially among the youth. This interest can be taken a step further (into sustainable enterprise) if students are given the necessary tools to turn community responsibility into a sustainable business.

2)  Saudi Arabia, and Islam overall, have a deep-rooted tradition in community service.  The religious and cultural focus of Islam on charity and giving to the community is an ideal that can, and should, be made sustainable.  

Community responsibility should not be on our minds only a few times per year- it should be a consistent part of our daily lives. 

(photo courtesy of Emily Tavoulareas)