Jamshedpur, Dec. 18: Xavier School of Management ( XLRI) is gearing up to host the �8th National Conference on Social Entrepreneurship� from 29th to 31st January, 2016 at XLRI Campus in Jamshedpur.
The theme of this year�s conference is � Social Innovations: Changing Lives and Society. Anshu Gupta, founder & director, GOONJ, and Magsaysay award winner will address the conference.
Explaining the theme, Prof Madhukar Shukla, Chairperson of XLRI�s Fr Arrupe Center for Ecology & Sustainability and the coordinator for the conference said, �India, with its myriad problems of providing access to basic provisions (e.g., education, healthcare, energy, livelihoods, information, etc.) to its vast population, provides immense opportunities for such innovations.
Many social entrepreneurs and ventures have designed and implemented solutions to social problems, which are unique and scalable/ replicable. The essence of social entrepreneurship is to identify gaps in the provision of social goods and services, and to design innovative and scalable/ replicable solutions to bridge those gaps.
By addressing the issues which are relevant to the society, these social innovations make an impact on the lives of people.�
�The conference aims to provide a platform for showcasing, knowledge sharing and building the social entrepreneurship ecosystem,� Prof. Shukla further added.
The three -day conference will witness participation of around 150-170 social entrepreneurs, development sector professionals, academicians and students who would share their experiences, issues and challenges.
Various sessions would be held on: Inaugural Panel: Support Ecosystem for Social Innovations, ICT for People and Development, Innovations in Education Delivery, Interventions for Youth Transformation, Innovations in Farm Support, Collectives as Entrepreneurs, Livelihoods on the Fringe of Society and Investing in Development.
Speakers and panelists at the event to include – Ajith Basu (chief program executive, Agastya International Foundation), Anshu Gupta (founder & director, GOONJ), Biplab Ketan Paul (director, Naireeta Services), Dhruv Lakra (founder & CEO, Mirakle Couriers), Franz Gastler (Founder & ED, Yuwa India), Nalini Shekar (Co-Founder, Hasiru Dala Wastepickers� Collective), Nitin Agrawal (COO & CFO, Intellegrow), Dr. Pradip Sarmah (Founder, Rickshaw Bank & ED, Center for Rural Development), PR Ganapathy (President, Villgro Innovation Foundation), Dr. Rangan Varadan (Founder, Micrograam), Umadevi Swaminathan (Managing Director, RUDI Multi Trading Company Ltd) among others.
The conference is organised by Fr Arrupe Centre for Ecology and Sustainability (FACES) and SIGMA, XLRI�s students� committee for social initiatives.