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Issue/WT foundation news

The 11th Open Forum for Social Entrepreneurship - Feb. 18, 2009

The 11th Open Forum for Social Entrepreneurship
L
ow-carbon, green growth, and new and renewable energy social enterprises

Environmental preservation + Economic development + Social balance consideration 
= the sustainable development of a green society

 

The 11th Open Forum for Social Entrepreneurship was held at the conference room of the Gang-won do Residents Center in Seoul from 15:00 to 18:00 on 13th of February. This forum became a place for discussing job-creation and the potential of social enterprises related to the green growth, which has been recently rising as a great topic. Prof. YUN, Sun Jin (associate professor of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University), and LEE, Yu Jin (managing director of Green Korea United) were invited as speakers. 



Prof. YUN, Sun Jin gave an hour-long speech with the theme of "green jobs and social jobs.” She started with the global status of the energy crisis and the reactions to this problem, then discussed green growth focusing on environmental preservation and economic development, and then sustainable development considering social equity. She suggested that reducing fuel poverty is one of the main issues to attain sustainable growth and that it could contribute to creating jobs and social enterprises while increasing the efficiency of fuel in each home.
She also introduced the government's policy based on green growth and emphasized the cases in Europe or the U.S. where green-collar jobs are not simple short-term jobs offering low pay, but decent jobs. Among the diverse energy industries, she explained the feasibility and necessity of social jobs and realistic possibilities in terms of creating jobs in the field of new and renewable energy

The second presenter, LEE, Yu Jin gave a speech outlining national and international cases of  regional energy independence and job creation. Considering the energy crisis as a worldwide problem, she stressed the importance of energy independence in communities with new and renewable energy. She also introduced other country's cases, envisioning the coordination of energy independence, job creation and economic development, and attaining regional energy independence.


 



In addition to this, she also introduced some cases from Korea and suggested the possible model of social enterprise in energy industries, as well as specific tasks to be handled, such as technology stability and labor issues. She also presented practical issues such as local energy independence movements, and resolutions interacting with government's policies.  
Through a variety of cases, we found that the goal of green industry to pursue sustainable development is similar to the values of social enterprise, realizing a double bottom line - social values with the environmental preservation, energy crisis and fuel poverty removal  and economic values with both 'creating decent jobs' and ‘community economic revitalization’ at the same time. It is critical that the civil sector, the government, corporations, and other resources closely communicate and cooperate together to achieve both green growth and successful social entrepreneurship. Especially, it shows us that both a variety of groups’ participation as well as persistent execution for 10 or 20 years is necessary to transfer to a green society.


 

The forum was meaningful for pre-social entrepreneurs and activists in that it reviewed the status of new and renewable energy social enterprises, which have been recently attempted in Korea, as well as their potential and the conditions needed to succeed.





The forum has supported an on-going networking platform between practitioners and researchers to allow them to raise issues about social enterprises since 2007. It is believed that the forum has contributed to expanding the social base for social enterprise issues, with about 100 participants from academics, social enterprises, and students involved in each forum. Under the 'Let's Give Wings to Social Entrepreneurs!’ project, the foundation also promotes the International Study Tour Program for Social Entrepreneurs along with the Open Forum sponsored by SK and Community Chest Korea, cooperating with a variety of social enterprises and organizations.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Translated by PARK, Sang Oh

Edited by Patrick Ferraro & Marie LEE