Social Entrepreneurship: A new development toward economic and social progress
Currently, developed and developing societies continue to confront complex and varied economic and social problems.Though many attempts have been made to address these problems, they have often been thwarted by strict legal limitations that are difficult to change.They may also been ineffective due of conflicts of interest in the commercial sector where the goal of business is usually focused on maximum profitability.
Despite many failures, a possible coalescence of strength through government, business, community and social organisations, could compensate for and provide possible solutions to problems.The concept of social entrepreneurship is currently main-streaming internationally to solve economic and social problems underpinned by appropriate governmental support, utilising internally creative strength.If social entrepreneurs will play critical roles to resolve economic and social problems, strategic paths may be forged towards the resolution of this centuryrsquo;s economic and social problems.
Citizen organisations have numerically boomed worldwide, with Social Entrepreneurship programmes in respected universities rapidly expanding and many countries effecting legal changes to encourage and support social entrepreneurialism.
This increase tacitly implies both government and non-governmental recognition of the success of citizen sector participation to solve the worldrsquo;s economic and social problems.There has been a massive increase in the number of such organisations in developing countries, with developed countries reflecting a similar pattern.Thus, globally today, there are thousands of citizen organisations and millions of people engaged in economic and social development work.
Social Entrepreneur programmes are now firmly embedded in such internationally renowned universities as Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Oxford.Harvard has established the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory (SE Lab) where students are taught to think and create projects to resolve real economic and social problems.Stanford University has more than 300 students enrolled for its Social Entrepreneur course, the number growing each year.
Some developed countries have been very active in encouraging their people to participate in this work.In the early years of his administration, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair emphasised the significance of social entrepreneurialism.He furthered this by appointing a Minister to oversee and support volunteer work and encourage British citizens to become involved with the work of non-governmental organisations.Many social development projects received governmental funding.
The concept of social entrepreneurship has been advanced in diverse working units and organisations across many nations, especially within developed countries, where people expect to resolve economic and social problems through citizen organisations, thus becoming volunteers and making financial contributions to these organisations.Strong social groups result, which then network to support the social work within these countries.
Social entrepreneurship is rapidly becoming the main effective method of addressing economic and social problems internationally, nationally and within local communities.Thailand needs to consider this concept. The government should be encouraged to support social entrepreneurialism and society should support those who want to participate as social entrepreneurs by creating educational facilities for studying this methodology, by building educational Centres of Social Entrepreneurship. This is a way forward to effectively influence the many social problems that Thai society faces today.
เผยแพร่:
Living in Thailand
เมื่อ:
2007-07-01