XLRI- Xavier School of Management to host the �6th National Conference on Social Entrepreneurship� from 31st January to 2nd February, 2014 at XLRI Campus in Jamshedpur.
With this year�s theme being � �Rethinking Development: Strengthening the Grassroots�, the 3-day long conference aims to explore and create a platform to showcase and learn from initiatives and social ventures which are promoting a holistic and �grounds-up� model of development.
Explaining the theme, Prof Madhukar Shukla, Chairperson of XLRI�s Fr Arrupe Center for Ecology & Sustainability and the coordinator for the conference, said, �During last several years, we have seen that growth merely in terms of higher GDP or per capita income does not necessarily trickle down to impact the lives of people. Therefore, there is a need to also look at alternative decentralized models and approaches to development. Through this conference, we aim to provide an opportunity to showcase such ventures and initiatives, and provide a platform for their replication through partnerships.�
Over two and half days, the conference will showcase various social ventures which have developed and implemented innovative community-led and owned modelsof development.. About thirty seasoned professionals and social entrepreneurs have confirmed their participation in the conference as speakers and panelists. They include well-known social entrepreneurs such as Skoll Fellows Dr Joe Madiath(Gram Vikas) and Stan Thekaekara (Just Change India), Kyoto Grand Prize winner Dr Marcella D�Souza (Watershed Organisation Trust),Ashoka Fellows such as Anshu Gupta (Goonj), Prema Gopalan (SwayamShikshanPrayog), Dr PK Tripathy (Ekjut), etc.
A highlight of the conference will be the 1st Annual Dr VergheseKurien Memorial Oration on Sustainable Development, which will be delivered by the American India Foundation Social Entrepreneur Awardee Dr Mihir Shah, Member, Planning Commission and President, Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation.
The conference organized by Fr Arrupe Centre for Ecology and Sustainability (FACES) and SIGMA, XLRI�s students� committee for social initiatives, shall witness 150-200 social entrepreneurs, development sector professionals, policy makers and academics to share their experiences like Dr. Anirudh Krishna � Professor, Public Policy – Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University; Abhishek Jain – Co-Founder & CEO, Eko Financial; Anshu Gupta – Founder-Director, GOONJ; Joe Madiath – Executive Director, Gram Vikas; Pradeep Ghosh – Founder & Director, OASiS; Ms. Prema Gopalan – Executive Director, Swayam Shikshan Prayog; Dr. Anand Bang – Research & Medical Officer, S.E.A.R.C.H.; CK �Bablu� Ganguly & Ms. Mary Vattamattam � Founders, Timbaktu Collective; Kalyan Akkipedi � Founder, ProtoVillage; KC Mishra – Founder & Director, eKutir; Ms. Lakshmi Venkatesan – Founder Trustee & CEO, B.Y.S.T.; Ms. Lisa Heydlauff – Founder & CEO, Be! Fund; Dr. Marcella D�Souza – Executive Director, Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR);