We, social entrepreneurs from eight countries and regions, gathered here in Seoul, Korea, at the Olympic Parktel from the 28th to the 30th of October for the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Summit (ASES) with Korean friends and sponsors as hosts. We would like to express our appreciation to all the organizations, sponsors, volunteers and friends that made this happen.
We dream of changing our society through social entrepreneurship. This dream had once seemed far away and unattainable in the near future. But today, as we stand together here in Seoul, sharing with each other unbelievable, amazing achievements and progress made over recent years, we are now confident that this once seemingly unachievable dream may soon become a reality.
Poverty, unemployment, and environmental degradation are some of the major problems facing Asians today. We believe that social entrepreneurship could be an alternative to address imbalances, environmental destruction and other crucial issues plaguing modern society. The sacrifices and efforts made by our forerunners who had predicted the future have not been in vain. Long-sought changes are now sweeping Asia. We, who are gathered here, are passionate to build upon these sparks to bring about further innovations and advancements.
We propose the following to promote social entrepreneurship in Asia in order to build an alternative society encompassing all regions:
- With an entrepreneurial mind set, we will earnestly search for remedies to the problems faced within and between nations. We will share successful models of social entrepreneurship that work amid Asia’s unique geographical, economic, and cultural settings.
- We will cooperate and communicate with each other to solve distinct social and economic problems facing each country. We will engage ourselves in dynamic knowledge exchange and promote innovation on the ASES Internet homepage using it as a platform for communication.
- We will support establishment of strong partnerships between government, business, and non-governmental sectors to solve social and economic problems and to achieve sustainable development in business management.
- We will collaborate to promote an environment in which social enterprises in Asia can obtain support and success to contribute towards a Pan Asia alternative economic structure.
- We will present visions and goals designed to promote worldwide cooperation and communication among social entrepreneurs to bring about global changes and innovations.
We will regularly hold summits and gather together for open discussions. We can no longer ignore social problems. This is a reality that affects each one of us, as well as our families and friends. Successful outcomes and inspiring stories from social enterprise experiences should be shared with everyone. We can dream and hope because many of us are standing together and bringing changes and innovations to change the world.
30th of October, 2008
All the Participants of the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Summit 2008
