Social Entrepreneurship in Davos

In my last blog ‘Let’s blow dandelions in Davos’ I expressed my expectations to the World Economic Forum in Davos being a ‘new kid on the block’.

In this blog I will like to discuss how social entrepreneurs can add value to the Davos motto of improving the state of the world.

The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs spent a day preparing for ‘rush hour’ when all the VIPs would fill the streets and meetings rooms in Davos.

We shared experiences, dreams and challenges. We energized each others and we practised how to connect with busy business people and other stakeholders in a very short period of time.

We connected with Young Global Leaders, Global Shapers and Technology Pioneers and felt the energy and dedication to learn from each others and contribute to each others visions and goals.

It has been a great experience – and a super motivating thought that if I connect with the right people in Davos this week I can make a giant step toward my goal of enabling one million jobs for people with autism and similar challenges.

I have experienced openness among large corporations, serious challenges in communities and brilliant business models, global networks and technology solutions which in the right combination can solve many of the most pressing global challenges.

My own focus has been on changing the perception of Human Capital to include huge untapped skilled resources that do not fit into the standard model based on social requirements but possess so much potential value that can be unlocked when the global and national stakeholders work together.

I see the social entrepreneurship concept as having great opportunities to improve the state of the world if stakeholders and social entrepreneurs develop models for working together.

 

Author:Thorkil Sonne, Founder and Chairman, Specialist People Foundation, Denmark; Social Entrepreneur of the Year, 2012

Specialisterne believes people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have special abilities that uniquely qualify them for certain types of work. The Specialist People Foundation trains people with ASD to work as IT consultants for Specialisterne, a forprofit private IT consulting company. Specialisterne consultants work for clients like Microsoft and Cisco doing tasks such as software testing and data registration.