SEWF 2019: Chair's Opening Address
SEWF Board Chair Hélène Malandain gives the opening address at the Social Enterprise World Forum 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Salam, Kia ora, Good afternoon everyone, and on behalf on the Social Enterprise World Forum Board, welcome to you all.
This hand carved vessel is inspired by the Waka – the canoe that was used by the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand to travel great distances on the open sea. It was made by a social enterprise based in Christchurch, when we hosted the World Forum in 2017. It has since then travelled to Scotland, and now to Ethiopia.
The waka was chosen as a symbol for the social enterprise movement around the world.
Because despite being spread over vast distances, we are connected by one body of water, and all live on the one same precious earth.
Behind the theme for this year’s Forum, Local Traditions Fresh Perspectives, is the idea that the social enterprise model very much compares with the way indigenous people used to trade, create and share value – and in places still do. We have a lot to learn from their traditions, their wisdom, their sense of identity, and their appreciation of each other’s culture.
I can’t wait to learn about some of the Ethiopian’s traditions, and how these are positively influencing the growth of social enterprise.
Looking back to move forward.
So, what’s happened in the world since we gather together in Edinburgh last September? The last 12 months were marked by significant political tensions, the rise of nationalism, waves of people being displaced and families being torn apart, including here in Ethiopia, increased risk of nuclear war, mass shootings and threats to freedom of the press. The list goes on.
But it was also a year in which people made powerful stands for equality and united in response to natural disasters and the threats of climate change. These events are fast building the list of arguments for deep systemic change – if we needed more arguments.
This brings me to reflecting on the conversations we had at the Forum last year, and in particular what it is that we need to do for SE to lead the charge in creating the system change we’re so desperate for.
The top 3 takeaways for me were:
The need to be more audacious with our work.
The need to be more inclusive and more accessible as a movement and,
The opportunity to collaborate better.
So where are we at? On the first one – audacious. It’s quite clear that we’re running out of time.
The pressure is on economies and societies across the world to find more innovative ways to achieve social inclusiveness and wellbeing.
In the context of international reporting requirements, such as the SDG’s, UN Human Rights and the Paris Agreement, we’re seeing the emergence of policies with a growing focus on intergenerational strategies: paving the way to enhance the prosperity and wellbeing for generations to come.
These innovative policies give me hope, and they provide with good frameworks for SE to audaciously contribute.
On the second point – being more inclusive and accessible, to make it easier for those who aren’t in this room to join the movement… I think this starts with cultivating authenticity.
It starts with ensuring that our movement remains a practitioner-led movement, whether that’s through supporting grassroots community initiatives, or through advocating for national strategies to be informed by the people that we serve – and everywhere in between.
I also think it’s our responsibility to grow the equity of our movement, so that the most underserved and underrepresented communities have access to quality capability support to develop business solutions to their own issues.
Finally, to become more accessible as a movement, we need to demystify SE and paint a clearer picture of how it’s already contributed to tackling our most wicked problems – making the case for social enterprise irrefutable - to advocate, influence and unlock further resources. For this, we need to get better at capturing data, measuring our impact, reporting on it, and telling compelling stories.
On the third point – the opportunity to collaborate better. Yes, social enterprise has the greatest potential to transform our economy, but we cannot do it alone.
Not only we need engagement, support and commitment from across sectors to realise this potential, but we should also join forces with affiliate movements that form part of the impact economy, creating a movement of movements so that together we can accelerate our collective impact.
So in summary, as we convene in the next few days, we may want to keep in mind the opportunities for:
Greater innovation.
Deeper connections.
Better evidence and inspiring stories from the communities – because they know best what wellbeing looks like to them.
The Social Enterprise World Forum is committed to each one of these opportunities, and more. As we celebrated our 10th anniversary last year, we found ourselves at a point of inflection.
After a decade of championing the global social enterprise movement through this global event, we decided it was time to expand our activities.
Our plans for 2020 include increasing sector capability and capacity, enhancing networks and connectivity, and growing our influencing voice.
I’d like to thank our global partners SAP, Johnson & Johnson and the Social Enterprise Institute for their continuous support and commitment to the cause.
As we aim for economic transformation, let’s also remember to celebrate the baby steps – because the work we do is hard.
So thank you to every single one of you for making it happen, and for traveling to Addis to share, learn and celebrate.
Wherever we’re going, we’ll get there together.
Thank you.
Hélène Malandain
Social Enterprise World Forum Board Chair
Director, Places & Networks at Ākina
Find out more about the Social Enterprise World Forum.