Small talk on the topic “Corporate Social Entrepreneurship – Opportunities for the Future” successfully ended

  

In cooperation with the American Corner, IG Alpbach Podgorica organised a small talk on the topic “Corporate Social Entrepreneurship – Opportunities for the Future” in KIC “Budo Tomović”, on 29 October 2012.

 

The small talk was attended by representatives of public institutions, NGOs, banking sector, young entrepreneurs, students and high school pupils. In a relaxed atmosphere, they posed questions related to concept of social entrepreneurship, of which they are not very familiar.

Speakers were:

- Doraja Eberle, member of the Executive Board of the ERSTE Foundation and

- Anica-Maja Boljević, Executive Director of the Fund for Active Citizenship (fAKT)

Sanja Bulatović, Public Relations Manager of the IGAP, moderated the event.

Emphasizing the importance of social component in business, Ms Eberle spoke about activities and goals of the organisation “Farmers Helping Farmers” (Bauern Helfen Bauern), which she had founded with her husband in 1992. Her goal was to help people who had been left, in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina, without homes and basic living conditions. As a pioneer of social entrepreneurship in the region, she managed to build 400 wooden houses with the help of her volunteers, thus helping people in need to stay at their ancestries. She also deported to Bosnia and Herzegovina 1000 trucks with humanitarian aid. One of her achievements should be particularly mentioned: in 1998, she rented a train which brought more than 900 tons of food from Germany to Sarajevo. The train was dubbed by the media as the “Train of Hope”.

Anica-Maja Boljević spoke about current situation and possibilities for further development of social entrepreneurship in Montenegro. The fAKT is an NGO which provides financial assistance to civil society organisations through programmes “Social Transition” and “Citizens’ Action”, aimed at contributing to positive changes in our society. The fAKT published an open call for awarding the philanthropy award „ISKRA 2012“, which is awarded to individuals and companies, who in the most efficient way had supported non-profit actions for common good. The award is aimed at recognising companies and people who have been recognised as benefactors, but also at encouraging revival and development of values such as solidarity, humanity and philanthropy.

The small talk was concluded by joint remark that corporate social entrepreneurship represents a chance for young people to initiate positive changes, improve social inclusion of vulnerable strata of our society and encourage ecological and economic development of the society as a whole.