Canadian First at MaRS for Social Innovation

More than 200 participants gathered at MaRS in late 2007 for Canada’s first Social Entrepreneurship Summit.

MaRS hosted the national event – in partnership with The Boston Consulting Group, the Centre for Social Innovation and the Toronto City Summit Alliance – as a forum for discussing, challenging and celebrating the implications of social entrepreneurship in Canada. With the help of Globe and Mail coverage, it also raised the profile of this growing sector.

“It was a terrific forum for social entrepreneurs from Canada and abroad to learn from each other,” said Allyson Hewitt, Director, Social Entrepreneurship at MaRS. “These community-minded individuals interested in catalyzing social change or alleviating social problems through innovative and sustainable practices really enjoyed the chance to network — to feel they were not alone in their work.”

Successful social entrepreneurs from Canada and abroad spoke about their lessons learned, the future of social finance and mapping the social economy.

Another first was Canada joining 18 other countries in awarding the prestigious Schwab Foundation “Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award”. The winner, Geoffrey Cape of Evergreen, was invited to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where entrepreneurs showcase their success in addressing some of the world’s biggest social, environmental and economic problems.

The full proceedings of the MaRS Summit, complete with presentations, links to Flickr pictures and YouTube videos can be found at:
www.marsdd.com/socialentrepreneurshipsummit.

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