For Immediate Release: March 7, 2006
Contact:  Kerry Parke, kparke@hbs.edu, (617) 495-6931

ANNUAL STUDENT-RUN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE HELD AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

Kennedy School of Government Professor David Gergen and Ashoka CEO Bill Drayton Photo: Neal Hamberg

BOSTON - More than 800 students, academic leaders, and practitioners attended the seventh annual Social Enterprise Conference on the Harvard Business School campus on Sunday, March 5. Presented by the Social Enterprise Club, a student club of Harvard Business School, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the conference theme was “Convergence,” reflecting the increased tendency of government, nonprofit, and for-profit enterprises to come together and focus on social problems, regardless of their separate functions.





Conference topics examined how organizations collaborate across sectors and/or share best practices to create social value in areas such as:

• international development,
• public/private partnerships,
• corporate social responsibility,
• education,
• microfinance,
• public health, and
• environmentally friendly business.

The conference also featured keynote addresses by Jeffrey B. Swartz, Timberland President and CEO, and Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO of Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs, as well as 17 panels that considered a variety of topics in social enterprise.

Harvard Business School Lecturer Stacey Childress (right) speaks with Kennedy School of Government student Eric Yazdani and HBS alumna Stephanie Lowell (MBA 1999) during an alumni luncheon. Photo: Neal Hamberg

As in years past, the day also included a career fair, an alumni networking event, and a forum for sharing innovative ideas. In addition, conference participants with an idea for a new social enterprise venture participated in the “Pitch for Change” competition – a 30-second “elevator pitch” contest. A panel of judges awarded cash prizes to two winning ideas. The First Place winner, “TeachForward.org,” is an idea for an online community for teachers across the country to share lesson plans and best teaching practices. In Second Place, “A Penny Saved” is a concept for a math-intensive financial literacy program for low-income, urban high school students.

The HBS Social Enterprise Club aims to provide every HBS student with the inspiration, skills, experiences, and networks needed to have a positive impact on the world. More information about the Club is available on the Web: http://www.socialenterpriseclub.com/index.asp.

About Harvard Business School
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School (www.hbs.edu) is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 40 Executive Education programs. For almost a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who have shaped the practice of business around the globe.