The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was set up in 2005 by president Clinton with the idea of bringing together world leaders to discuss and find solutions to the worlds problems. The Initiative did not want to run programmes itself but wanted to be a platform for discussion where programmes could be devised and resources and values could be shared through the CGI global networks. Central to the intiative was getting it members (world leaders and organisations) to make their discussions and solutions a reality by putting their programmes into action.

In order for the Initiative to make sure that things actually happen, they require every member to write a commitment for what they will do. These commitments can be either financial or non-financial and have to be new (adding to what they currently do, be innovative), specific (address a particular problem with realistic objectives) and measurable (to track and report on the impact of their commitment so that the results can inform/ stimulate any future work). Examples of these commitments include:

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Muhammad Yunus (founder of the Grameen Bank) and Liam Black (social entrepreneur and manager of restaurant chain Fifteen) featured in a recent interview for Social Enterprise Magazine. They spoke to each other about the future of social businesses and Muhammad’s new work with private companies Danone and Veolia.  They talk through the complex relationships of making money and doing social good.   To read the full interview visit the Social Enterprise Magazine Website. 

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20th Novemeber 2008 is the offical day for Social Enterprise. As such the Social Enterprise Coalition are holding a national photographic competition. Photos have to demonstrate how social enterprises are transforming lives. The winning photograph will be published in a special edition of the Big Issue and will exhibited at various conferences and london galleries.  The winner will also receive a digital camera. The deadline for entries is the 28th October 2008. To find out more about the competition visit the Social Enterprise Coalition website. 

Social Entreprise London are holding a conference on 22 October 2008 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank London. The conference will open up discussions on the future of social enterprise in London looking specifically at business development, public-private partnerships and new emerging markets.  To learn more about the conference, it’s speakers and seminars sessions click here.   To book your place visit the Social Enterprise London registration page.  

Seth Godin is a marketing expert and writes one of the worlds best marketing blogs. Seth has a history of entrepreneurship and started his first enterprise at the age of 14 (read more about Seth on Wikipedia).   Seth has recently produced a free half hour presentation on how to grow your business for non-profit organisations. Listen to his what he has to say by clicking here.   Why not subscribe to Seth’s blog and get information about his free ebooks, seminars and general thoughts about business and marketing.     

Network for Goodhave a great range of fact sheets and resources on marketing and sponsorship for social enterprises, entrepreneurs and non-profits.  Click here to visit Network for Good resources and training page.  

The Small Bizpod is a great site for entrepreneurs. It was started in 2005 by Alex Bellinger to help individuals start up, manage and develop small businesses. Alex did this by interviewing entrepreneurs across the country to get here their stories and share their experiences as they struggle to create successful businesses. Since it started in 2005 Small Bizpod has become really well respected and Alex’s pod casts are listened to by thousands of people from across the world. This months podcast is all about social entrepreneurship where Alex interviewed participants at the Shine conference in May  2008. Listen to their thoughts on social entrepreneurship by visiting the Small Bizpod website and downloading the podcast (number 73 social entrepreneurs at shine).    

Imagine a place where people from all walks of life live together in perfect harmony, where they push scientific and social boundaries and they all contribute to build a perfect society.

Can a place like this really exist?
Well if you look to Viluppuram a village near Pondicherry in Southern India, you will find a community that is trying to do just this, it is called Auroville.

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Rightly or wrongly when someone first told me about Volontariat I had some real misgivings about going to visit them. The thought of people in Belgium and France sponsoring children made me doubt that the organisation could actually be empowering it beneficiaries to take control of their lives, I had visions of sad advertising campaigns being run in Europe and people having their heart strings tugged like so many charities do, also how many people could the organisation help through sponsorship alone and how on earth was it a sustainable model.

Well, I have to say that I was totally wrong. I still have questions about the charity model and the organisations sustainability, I feel that there is still more that can be done to generate income and also help their beneficiaries to get the most out of the services on offer.

Ok lets look at what it was that changed my mind….
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