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WT News
2. Twenty Teams Win the 2010 National Social Venture Contest
On December 6th, the 2010 National Social Venture Contest was held
at the Konkuk University. It was aimed at students and the general public who have creative ideas, can conceive and make innovative models for social enterprises.
For about seven hours, the participants made numerous presentations of social ventures. After this, the 12 Judges, consisting of experts from the Ministry of Employment & Labor, Korea Social Enterprise Conference and other organizations, began evaluations, and selected the final 20 Nominees.
Before the announcement of the Winner, a judge from Korea Social Enterprise Conference made a speech on the behalf of the entire panel and said, “Compared to last year, the fields of enterprise, the types of items suggested by the competitors, and participating age groups varied. Many of the participants suggested business models which have their roots in the local society. All this made it hard for us to choose between them.” He also listed the important screening criteria as being the following: whether the enterprise item is creative and innovative, whether the item reflects our social values, and whether the item has a potential for social impact.
T
he Final Winners, Who Earned the KRW Five Hundred Million Financial Award
As a result, out of 43 nominees, 20 teams were selected as the finalists; they will receive KRW five hundred twenty million in total as a prize and as financial support for their initial expenditure.
A team named Delight (Seoul), introduced its business as supplying low income senior citizens with cheap hearing aids; and won the Best Youth Foundation Award. For this competitive award, from among 22 other competitors, Delight claimed the prize of KRW thirty million.
The Best Foundation Award and KRW thirty million prize was granted to a team named Cause Square, which presented its main business as the location based indirect donation application.
The Best Idea Award, which targeted the individual and the organization that has not started the actual business yet but proposed bright ideas of a potential social venture, went to the team Little Big Moms (Seoul).
The Little Big Moms’ business item provides benefits to both working moms (mothers with jobs) and “little moms” (girls who became mothers in the 15 – 19 age group), who suffer from social prejudice. They offer opportunities for the “little moms” to help the working moms by providing childcare. This prize granted KRW five million to the “Little Big Mom”.
Besides the prize money, financial support for the initial stage up to KRW twenty million will be given to 15 teams who win the award in the Best Foundation field and KRW five million in maximum to the two winners of the Best Idea field.
Two of the finalists, Delight and Solar and Light, won the SK Innovation Award and each received KRW five million.
The contest was hosted by the Ministry of Employment & Labor, arranged by Work Together Foundation and other organizations from seven different regions, and sponsored by the Social Enterprise Revitalization Forum.
Translated: by KIM Gyeol, CHOI Eun-Young, Skye KANG, HONG Yea-Bin
Edited: by Tamara de Mel, HA So-Hee, Marie LEE,
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