Social entrepreneurship and innovation play a key role in achieving sustainable international development by offering new solutions to social, economic and environmental problems. In the face of global challenges, the importance of these areas is higher than ever, stimulating progress and inclusive growth around the world.
On May 31, 2024, the workshop “The role of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Sustainable International Development” was held at the Ala-Too International University (AIU) with the participation of international experts in the field of innovation, business and social entrepreneurship. The event was organized by the Department of International Relations of the AIU.
“The purpose of the workshop is to discuss how social entrepreneurs create value, as well as the role of these organizations in society. The workshop offers students and young researchers the opportunity to gain new knowledge, thereby strengthening their capacity to understand the role of innovation in social entrepreneurship.” - said the organizer Taalaigul Usonova, senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations. — подчеркнула организатор Таалайгуль Усонова – старший преподаватель кафедры Международных отношений.
The honorary speaker of the workshop was Johanna Mair, Professor of Organizational Theory, Strategy and Leadership at the Herty School of Governance (Germany) and at Stanford University (USA), who spoke on the topic “Innovation and Scaling for Impact”. This topic allowed participants to exchange views on how social sector organizations create value through innovation and scaling impacts. They discussed how local organizations, including social enterprises and cooperatives, can integrate into international development programs by providing goods and services to the market for social or environmental purposes, despite differences in legal forms.
“Social entrepreneurship has been around for a long time, but only in recent years have we begun to realize its role as an important element of economic and social progress. For example, the first UN resolution on the social and solidarity economy was adopted, which inspires hope that in the future social enterprises will be recognized as an important factor of development along with business and governments.
If you start influencing development issues and become an entrepreneur, it's important to be persistent. It will be a difficult journey, where many obstacles may arise, and you will never be able to cope alone. This workshop was really impressive, as I saw the expertise and interest in solving the problem of social entrepreneurship as a really important phenomenon. Enterprises engaged in social activities are actively working to solve problems. At the same time, there is an interest in the development of knowledge in this area and their use in the educational process.” - noted Professor Johanna Mair. — отметила профессор Йоханна Мейр.
In addition, during the panel discussion “The role of local entrepreneurship in international development”, Dr. Nazik Beishenaly, researcher of the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Action Program of the European Union at the Herty School of Governance (Germany), and Emily Block, Professor at the Alberta School of Business in Canada, spoke.
“Social entrepreneurship plays a key role in ensuring stability and development, as in addition to the activities of large corporations and state-owned enterprises, small enterprises also contribute to the economy and the social sector, influencing the formation of society. Despite the existing problems, such as insufficient legislation and financial difficulties, entrepreneurs gain confidence, find corporate solutions and achieve sustainability.
The impact of universities on the development of social entrepreneurship can be significant, since universities are also actively engaged in research on the activities of organizations in the social sector. For example, based on the event held today, two conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, discussions on how social entrepreneurship affects the development of Kyrgyzstan, and secondly, the application of foreign concepts appropriate to the context of our country to create specialized training programs.” - added Dr. Nazik Beishenaly. — добавила д-р Назик Бейшеналы.
The event brought together students and teaching staff, which facilitated the exchange of experiences and opinions. During the Q&A session, participants had the opportunity to receive feedback from experts in the field.
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