A forum for inquiry into current affairs, the State of the World Week at ECLA
(SWWE) fulfils an integral part of ECLA educational mission by demonstrating
the relevance of liberal arts studies to contemporary world events. Students
choose the theme of the week and play a substantive role in the production of
the programme. This year, the topic of Social Entrepreneurship has been chosen.
Broadly put, Social Entrepreneurship refers to initiatives with two goals in
mind: they seek to fill a social need which is not being met by the State
or by private enterprise, and to be financially self-sustaining. Social
Entrepreneurship can include work in a wide range of fields, including health,
education, and cultural production. There is much debate about what counts as
Social Entrepreneurship, about its future potential as an economic model, and
its historical significance.
The SWWE 2007 is built on a set of morning lectures by speakers that will share
their experience in the field and offer political, sociological and
philosophical analysis, and on a project incubator in the afternoon, that will
bring together students, faculty and speakers to work in groups on social
entrepreneurship projects proposed by students prior to the beginning of
the week. A jury will award the best group project with a prize at the end
of the week.
Invited speakers include Christian Seelos (IESE Business School Barcelona).
Nir Tsuk (Director of Global Fellowships, Ashoka), Krzysztof Stanowski
(Social Entrepreneur, Warsaw), Adam Davis (Philosopher, University of Chicago),
and Paola Grenier (Sociologist, London School of Economics).
In addition to ECLA academic community, SWWE draws on participation from
ECLA alumni and students from other institutions. However, only a limited
number of places are available for external students. There is no registration
fee, but students will have to pay for their travel costs, and will be asked
to make a small contribution for food and accommodation costs. If you would
like to apply, please send a short email to Catherine Toal (C.Toal@ecla.de)
or to Rafael Ziegler (R.Ziegler@ecla.de) that briefly explains your reasons
for wishing to participate. Is there a social problem that you propose to
address with a project? Also attach a short CV. Priority will be given to
students who demonstrate a serious interest in the topic of social
entrepreneurship. The deadline for applications is 1 April 2007.
Applicants will hear back in the first half of April.
SWW has been recognized as an event of the UN-decade for education for sustainable development 205-2014