Social entrepreneurship, which uses business to change the world for better, is an interesting alternative to the non-governmental sector. Participants of the meeting will not only get accustomed with the concept of social entrepreneurship, but above all they will get to know real examples of using business tools in solving social problems.
Author and translation: Anna Książek
Proofreading: Andrea Pucci
Main objectives:
Disclosing to the participants the concept of social entrepreneurship
During the workshop the participants will:
Get to know the idea of social entrepreneurship and organizations which support this kind of activity.
Get to know ways of changing the world for better, including real life examples of social enterprises from all over the world.
Get motivated to take their own actions.
1. Game
Explain the rules of the game. On the table or on the floor put many squares of paper in four different colors, creating a path along which the piece will move (in a game of the goose fashion). Each color means something different, for example:
green – story of changemaker
red – task
blue – hazard
white – neutral, nothing happens
The number of squares depends on the time you have and the number of participants. If needed, you can add more squares or remove some during the game, it’s going in line with the idea of the game itself (especially, adding more squares): if somebody is changing the world, she/he often finds out that the path is different from the one she/he imagined at the beginning.
Participants play the game in small groups of 4-6 people. They don’t play against each other, but together. It’s very important! There is only one piece. The first team throw the dice and the piece moves the appropriate number of squares. Depending on the color of the square, the team which threw the dice chooses a changemaker story (if landed on a green square), draws the task for teams (if red) or the hazard card (if blue). The task for teams is undertaken by all teams. For every team which fulfills the task correctly, move the piece one square ahead. Hazard tasks are done once and they regard moving the piece forward or backward on the board. Then, next team throws the dice. All the time you play with one piece only, having the same aim – going ahead.
Before the meeting prepare cards with changemakers stories, cards with tasks for teams and hazard cards.
Cards with changemakers stories
Prepare them based on stories of social enterprises from https://www.exchangetheworld.info/changemakers-1, put also some stories from your country.
Card with tasks for teams
To the list reported below add some tasks connected with the situation in your country or other interesting issues related to social entrepreneurship:
Explain the term “social entrepreneurship”. Summarizing the answers of the teams, show them a short movie, prepared by the Smart Kolektiv, which explains what social entrepreneurship is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ecKK3S8DOE
Social enterprise (social business) is a kind of business, for which important is not only earning money, but also solving social problems. It can be an enterprise which hires disenfranchised people (for example with disabilities), which gives its profits to charity or which produces fair, ecological products. Examples of social enterprises are presented on https://www.exchangetheworld.info/changemakers-1.
Give one example of a changemaker from your country.
Give one example of a social business which can help people with mental disabilities.
Mention three things which you can put into action from today to become a more responsible consumer.
Give two examples of a social business that can help single mothers.
Name two organizations which support social entrepreneurs. Summarizing the answers of teams, tell shortly for example about Kanthari (organization from India which leads courses for changemakers, including social entrepreneurs) or Ashoka (present a short movie which explains what Ashoka is and what it means to change the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycslk2K6S-8)
Hazard cards (examples)
Go back three squares
Go ahead three squares
Change teams. One or two persons (depending on the size of the team) per team swap creating new teams. Put this card at least few times.
Changemaker Game organized for youth from Fundacja Wyobraz sobie, Poland.
2. Story of solution
Participants watch a few minutes movie which inspired the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkRvc-sOKk
Tasks and topics to discuss:
Find other examples of social enterprises from your own country and all over the world. Think together what makes them social (for example what kind of social need they answer). Do problems in your country and other places are similar?
Organize a debate on “Non-governmental organization vs. social enterprise”. What are the pros and cons of each solution?
Find a social entrepreneur from your region and interview her/him. You can base on interviews from https://www.exchangetheworld.info/changemakers-1.
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