SEWF 2018: It ended with a roar
The Social Enterprise World Forum 2018 ended with a roar as the host city passed from Edinburgh to Ethiopia's Addis Ababa with a celebratory performance from traditional Ethiopian dancers.
During the ceremony, delegates heard from a selection of the forum’s leading figures, with many speaking on theme of inspiring a new generation of social entrepreneurs through education. CEO of CEIS and founder of SEWF Gerry Higgins highlighted the inspirational work of St Albert’s primary school in Glasgow, which teaches creative community building and some of whose pupils were attending the conference share everything they had learnt about social enterprise.
We want to see more young people on those seats and on the stage
A group representing PwC's Youth Talent Programme also took to the stage. One of the participants, Christopher Harper, said: “To the Social Enterprise World Forum, we have been inspired by the contribution of young people to this event, but we want to see more young people on those seats and on the stage. You don’t need a millennial survey to know what young people are thinking.”
Aileen Campbell, Scottish communities minister, also reflected on Scotland's development since the financial crisis 10 years ago: “Ten years ago the financial system broke. We realised that doing more of the same isn’t sustainable, and social enterprise is at the heart of the endeavour to rebalance the economy and rebuild our communities."
You can watch the Forum’s closing film above, showcasing the fact that the World Forum delegates experienced many of Edinburgh’s cultural offerings as well as their social enterprise learnings this year – from whiskey and haggis to ceilidh dancing. Have a watch!
Pioneers Post is media partner to the Social Enterprise World Forum. To see all of our Social Enterprise World Forum coverage from this year's event, click here.
