"Indeed, at the core of social entrepreneurship is a synthesis and synergy. Refugees and summer camps. Bottled water and Kenyan schools. There are no clear cut lines in solving social problems; instead, there are synergies, often unlikely ones. My greatest hope with the Summit is to spark those ideas and partnerships, creating an open forum for people of all backgrounds to---in the words of our tagline --- unite and ignite. There's something intangibly wonderful about bringing together hundreds of people who don't know each other but all live and think with a common thread -- the desire to make a difference."
"'I had met so many amazing people who were dedicated to social entrepreneurship and I wanted to bring them all to the same place at the same time so they could meet each other,; explains Zhou. Spurred in part by a smaller conference held at Columbia University, Zhou describes the conference as seeking to 'educate, engage, and inspire participants' in 'how to use their passions and skills to create positive social change and make a great living at the same time.' The conference was a resounding success with over 200 participants.'"
"The Summit attracted students interested in social entrepreneurship from other universities, as well. Eren Shultz traveled to Harvard from Clinton, New York with two other students from Hamilton College to attend the conference after reading about it in the Wall Street Journal. 'You have an amazing array of talented speakers. Other schools can't facilitate something of this scale,' he said."
Please direct all press inquiries to Katrina Wong, Director of External Outreach, at ktwong@college.harvard.edu.
PRESS RELEASE
IGNITING INNOVATION SUMMIT ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONVENES YOUNG LEADERS AT HARVARD
"Prestigious conference explores social entrepreneurship through discussion panels, TED-style talks, an innovation showcase, and a social venture challenge"
Cambridge, MA, USA, October 9, 2013 – The Harvard Social Innovation Collaborative is hosting the largest undergraduate conference on social entrepreneurship in the Northeastern region. Students from across the US will convene on November 9th, 2013 for the third annual Igniting Innovation Summit on Social Entrepreneurship at Harvard College, which unites students, academics, and leaders passionate about developing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
Over forty leaders from the private, non-profit, and public sectors will address the Summit’s participants through TED-style talks, discussion panels, interactive skill-building workshops, an innovation showcase, and a social venture challenge. The Summit’s attendees will enjoy keynote addresses by Tracy Palandijan, CEO of Social Finance USA, John Paul Dejoria, founder of Paul Mitchell Systems and The Patron Spirits Company, and Arnoud Raskin, Ashoka Fellow and founder of the Mobile School. The annual Summit has been featured on Forbes.com and DoSomething.org, and has hosted guests such as Paul Rice, President & CEO of Fair Trade USA, and Lara Galinsky, Senior Vice President of Echoing Green.
The Summit has partnered with The Resolution Project to host a Social Venture Challenge. The Challenge allows Summit attendees to build teams and submit their plans for actual social ventures, in America or abroad, that will make a positive impact today. Resolution will provide Fellowships, including grants of up to US $3,000 and personalized advisory support, to the winning teams and their ventures.
The Innovation Showcase will serve as a recruiting fair for social enterprises to tap into the talent of the Summit’s participants. The Showcase will host both for-profit and non-profit organizations seeking to engage undergraduate students in their initiatives.
In addition to topic-specific discussions, participants will attend practical skill-building workshops including public speaking, leadership, and personal mission exploration. Interactive expert panels will address issues ranging from women’s empowerment to financing social ventures. The 2013 Summit will also feature a plenary panel moderated by GameChangers 500 founder Andrew Hewitt will feature top-level executives from New Balance, Warby Parker, and Life is Good to discuss social innovation in large companies.
Representatives from premier social enterprises including Ashoka, She’s the First, and the Peace Innovation Lab will interact with participants throughout the day. "As an organization on the front lines of social innovation,” writes Brian Gloede, CEO and founder of social impact consulting firm Quarterback, “we're doubly excited to be a part of the 2013 Igniting Innovation Summit at Harvard."
This year, Forbes and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship are the Summit’s exclusive media partners and will be publishing a series of articles by some of the Summit’s top speakers in a special Summit series scheduled to be released from October 28th to November 9th.
Online registration for the Igniting Innovation Summit and Social Venture Challenge is now open at http://www.ignitinginnovationsummit.org/ Queries can be directed to Katrina Wong, Director of External Outreach and Innovation Showcase, or Nishin Nathwani, Director of the Summit, at nathwani@college.harvard.edu at ktwong@college.harvard.edu.
IN THE PRESS
