International Social Entrepreneurship Conference takes place in Istanbul

British Council, TACSO ve Tüsev tarafından düzenlenen Uluslararası Sosyal Girişimcilik Konferansı'na katılım.

Istanbul, February 27, 2012 – The British Council, TACSO (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations) and TÜSEV (Third Sector Foundation of Turkey), are organising an International Social Entrepreneurship* Conference. The strategic partner of the Conference is Vodafone Turkey Foundation and the conference is hosted by Kadir Has University. The Conference will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 29 February to 1 March 2012 at Kadir Has University’s Cibali Campus.

We define social entrepreneurs as women and men who possess the vision, creativity, and extraordinary determination of the typical business entrepreneur – but who devote these qualities to introducing and implementing innovative solutions to systemic social problems. 

Over the past few decades, the boundary between private (business), and social (civil society) sectors has been blurring as many pioneering organizations have started to blend social and environmental aims with business approaches. Businesses are dedicating more resources to delivering social and environmental benefits. Meanwhile, CSOs are attempting to operate in a more businesslike way.

Conceptualised as part of the global Social Entrepreneurship Project carried out by the British Council, this conference is targeting experienced social entrepreneurs and supporters of social entrepreneurship from the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia. With 150 participants from the region working in this field, this conference will be the first of its kind and will be creating an important opportunity for the development of social entrepreneurship in the region.

A reception for the conference participants will be held at 1900 at the Rezan Has Museum (Kadir Has University Cibali Campus).

Mr. Nihat Ergün (to be confirmed), Turkish Minister for the Science, Industry and Technology, is expected to address the participants together with Dr. Hasan Süel  the Chairman of Vodafone Turkey Foundation, on behalf of the conference organisers. A concert by Social Inclusion Band will follow the speeches.   

The press are invited to cover both events. The language of the Conference will be English, translation service will be provided.

Regular updates from the conference will be available via Twitter #SGKonf2012 for Turkish and #SEConf2012 for English.