Australia To Host Social Enterprise World Forum In 2022 As Catalytic Opportunity For Global Sector
The Australian delegation during SEWF Ethiopia 2019.
How might we create a catalyst for growth of the social enterprise and broader ‘business for good’ sector in Australia and globally?
That was the question I asked myself in January 2017, having identified a huge opportunity for sector growth when originally launching Impact Boom. The seed for the bid was sewn whilst witnessing the impact the forum had had, particularly in the lead up to the New Zealand forum. Australia had to give it a shot. Fast forward 4.5 years, and it is due to the hard work of sector leaders, many friends, great colleagues and partners who formed a team to bring the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) to Australia in September 2022. We couldn’t be happier with the opportunity it brings and the momentum it has helped create. And we welcome you, no matter where you are in the world, to join us in Brisbane or online for SEWF 2022.
Australia’s rich cultural heritage and First Nations people have sustained this incredible land for over 60,000 years. What better inspiration do we have than the regenerative practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders? We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land. The island that is Australia has always been a place of learning, teaching, sharing and we pay our deepest respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to the Turrbal and Jagera people of Meanjin, Brisbane.
The question we’ve been asking ourselves all along this journey is ‘how might we co-design an experience as a nation which leads to:
A stronger, more cohesive ecosystem (ideally with the removal of silos), with united, state-based networks?
Greater public awareness and demand for socially responsible and regenerative products and services?
Formation of a resourced, national social enterprise strategy for Australia, which provides clear goals and metrics for success?’
The bid, and now work towards this very unique Australian forum is an opportunity for all of us to grow the movement and take the urgent action needed to tackle our deep-rooted social, environmental and cultural issues globally.
A selection of Australia’s purpose-led leaders share the SEWF 2022 backstory and why this is such an exciting opportunity for delegates both in Australia and around the world.
[Helen Harvey] - The Social Enterprise World Forum or SEWF was a community enterprise company that was founded in Scotland in 2008 where we held our first ever global event with over 400 people in attendance. Since then, we've held events on every continent in the world, and last year we went virtual with over 5,000 participants from over a hundred countries. SEWF works to grow the social enterprise movement globally and support social enterprises. In addition to events of which we have five this year in 2021, we're working to build, connect and support the social enterprise community throughout the year. Other priority areas include social procurement. We recently launched our international online social procurement community practice and policy, which includes our global mapping project and resource library where you can find a huge amount of social enterprise resources free-to-access on our website. SEWF was last in Australia in 2009 in Melbourne, so since then the social enterprise sector in Australia has grown significantly.
There's some really exciting and innovative work taking place that we're looking forward to spotlighting next year during SEWF 2022, when we return to Australia.
Building on our experience of developing SEWF's online event model, we're also excited about the possibility of how we can collaborate with WhiteBox Enterprises and partners to deliver a truly hybrid event with participation in person and online. 2022 has our largest set participation to date.
Tom Allen, Luke Terry & Emma-Kate Rose after delivering the Australian pitch to the SEWF Board in Ethiopia to host the forum.
[Tom Allen] - Whilst Impact Boom led the Australian bid, it was truly a collaborative team effort to get this across the line, with the original Advisory Board including myself, Alex Hannant of the Yunus Centre, Belinda Morrissey of English Family Foundation, Emma-Kate Rose of QSEC and Luke Terry of White Box Enterprises, alongside many other supporters nationally. So with White Box Enterprises now taking the reigns as co-host of SEWF 2022 alongside the global body, I asked Luke why this is a hugely exciting project for Australia, and what we can all look forward to?
[Luke Terry, CEO, White Box Enterprises] - Hosting the Social Enterprise World Forum for White Box Enterprises is a real privilege. In a post COVID world, more than ever, I think what I'm really excited about is how global change makers, social entrepreneurs and especially jobs focused social enterprises and entrepreneurs can gather from all over the world in one place. We are hoping to have about 2000 in-person delegates and as many as a hundred thousand people digitally from all around the world.
I think for me personally, when I was growing up and starting out as a social entrepreneur, I had the privilege to attend the Social Enterprise World Forum in Scotland. Now, there is the opportunity I think for many young people in Queensland and social entrepreneurs that are just starting out to say, "I want to set up a social enterprise," or "I want to scale my social enterprise." I think for us here at White Box, the Social Enterprise World Forum isn't just about usual business, it's about bringing together B-Corp, social impact investors, policy makers, and a whole range of different people that want to use business to do good. I think if I look at our young social entrepreneurs that we work with at White Box every day, or we connect with all around the world, it's those young people that can make a difference for our planet at this very important time. We at White Box are just totally excited and honoured to have the opportunity to be a co-host.
[Tom Allen] - Given the current state of the world and the impacts of COVID-19, I asked Dominiqe Bird, SEWF 2022 Event General Manager to clarify the event format and how it is planning to be run.
[Dominiqe Bird, SEWF Event GM] -
The Social Enterprise World Forum next year will be a hybrid event for the very first time.
Participants from over a hundred countries will attend the forum either in-person or digitally. Whether it's a click of a button, a smile on a screen, a friendly bump or a handshake, the hybrid experience will offer even more ways to network and exchange ideas. We're well aware of the challenges that we face in the midst of a pandemic, but the beauty of a hybrid event means that at any point, we can run an entirely digital event on our virtual platform. At the same time, we're confident that by September next year, Australians should be able to attend the forum in-person, and if we're lucky, some friends from New Zealand and other countries nearby. But regardless of all the uncertainty, one thing that we're sure about is next year, we will deliver a truly global event with participation from even more countries than previous years, and that makes me really excited.
[Tom Allen] - Throughout the bid process, the Queensland Social Enterprise Council (QSEC) provided strong support. Both Elise Parups, CEO and Emma-Kate Rose (former Chair), alongside the broader Board put in considerable effort. Securing the bid did not come without its challenges. Gerry Higgins, Founder of SEWF came out to Australia in February 2020 for a planning visit, just prior to the onset of COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, both Canada and Australia were pushed back a year and in 2020, SEWF made the decision to host a fully online forum.
So with the strong hope that the globe has the opportunity to attend in-person, I asked current QSEC Chair Richard Warner what is unique about social enterprise in Brisbane and more broadly in Queensland? Why is this a great destination to discover and learn about social enterprise?
[Richard Warner, Chair, Queensland Social Enterprise Council] - Brisbane and Queensland is a great place to come and discover and learn more about social enterprise. Queensland social enterprises are some of the first modern social enterprises in the country, and we like to think there's something special in the water here in Queensland from the get-go. The early social enterprises in Queensland were highly collaborative, and they formed a group called the New Mutualism Group, which then led to the Queensland Social Enterprise Council, and more recently the first funded peak body in Australia for social enterprise. We're a sector that is inclusive, works together, is passionate about social change and wants to bring other people along into the fold so that we can work together for high impact and encourage and support each other. That's something we've got here that's not absent in other places, but that we think is a real strength of what we do, and we want to share it with you.
[Tom Allen] - Whilst the main forum will be held in Brisbane, events will unfold nationally. I asked Rebecca Scott, CEO of STREAT, one of Australia’s social enterprise successes, what stands out for her in Australia when it comes to social enterprise?
[Rebecca Scott OAM] - I think we've got such an incredible opportunity with the Social Enterprise World Forum to show the depth and breadth of Australian social enterprises. I think we've got this incredible openness. And an extraordinary level of generosity is one of the things that I've loved about being in this sector for the last 12 years. That sense of having organisations that share what they've got and that don't protect their IP but rather generously share it.
I would love for anyone coming to the Social Enterprise World Forum to get that sense of openness and generosity amongst our amazing sectors.
[Tom Allen] - We can’t forget that inspiration to host SEWF Australia was found by observing the strong momentum in the lead up to SEWF New Zealand in 2017 hosted by the Ākina Foundation and led by Alex Hannant. When Alex moved to Brisbane to set up the Yunus Centre, Griffith University, the centre began a Fellowship Program, and in the first round, myself, Tony Sharp, Emma-Kate Rose and Anna Guenther were selected and were provided with support for significant projects creating sector growth. I was lucky to have the support of the Yunus Centre, including Ingrid Burkett and that group, as it was pivotal to making this all happen.
So with the benefit of hindsight, I asked Alex what Australia can learn from when New Zealand hosted the forum, and what makes the Australian forum a truly unique opportunity?
[Alex Hannant, Co Director, Yunus Centre, Griffith University] -
The first thing we learned was that a lot of the value created by the Forum actually happens well before the Forum takes place.
A lot of that value as a result happens very much at the local and national level. The process of designing what the event was going to have really encouraged us and invited us as a sector to really name what we wanted and what we would have to do in order to achieve those goals. Through that process, it also created a bunch of connections. A lot of people who had been doing similar work but didn't necessarily have a reason to connect suddenly had one, so that was incredibly valuable in really building that coordination and network for social enterprise across the country. Also, in the lead up to the event, it was a big enough draw card to encourage other key stakeholders, whether that was local government, central government, philanthropy, mainstream business or corporates to get more engaged with social enterprise and also invite them to develop their own stories. These are things that they would like to work with social enterprise on at the Forum, so they had a while to think about what the relationship they wanted to have for social enterprise was, and then to make the necessary preparations which could lead into an announcement or the launch of something new at the event.
Clearly at the event, there was so much value created. The ability to have a number of different conversations which were interconnected, be that around investment, procurement, the role of intermediaries and networks, or different organisations who are working on similar thematic issues. All those conversations were able to take place and be woven into something bigger, which reflected social enterprise as a movement, a sector for the benefit of the whole country and an emerging part of the economy.
Of course, you can't overlook the importance of relationships that an event like this facilitates at an individual level, organisational level and between groups of organisations and that was really important. But I'd say looking back, the biggest thing we learned was the role of the event in creating a longer-term legacy. Whether that was around the profile of Aotearoa New Zealand being a leader in the field of social enterprise, I think a lot of people experienced that event as a really positive thing. As a result, the country still sticks in their minds, and that's alive now because I think for people doing social enterprise in Aotearoa New Zealand, they have a different level of access to colleagues overseas and maybe a different level of credibility.
But ultimately that legacy was about what happened afterwards in terms of the national governments being prepared to think about a longer term sector development program and how social enterprise could be woven into any number of different policy priorities and strategies. That work's been going on over the last three and a half years, and the Ãkina Foundation have just reported back to the government on where too progress next. I think while a lot of different actors and activities fed into that, the World Forum certainly played quite a catalytic role in enabling that change to happen.
There lies the big lesson for Australia; how does Australia use the hosting of this event to really create a legacy for the future? While there is so much great work going on at an organisational level and really interesting work happening at the state level, there's still a void in the vacuum around coordination and cohesion at a national level.
This is a national event speaking to an international audience, so what is the opportunity for the forum to be the place which launches that strategy for the long-term, and that legacy around sector development for social enterprise in Australia?
Urban tours (like this one to Temsalet Kitchen in Addis Ababa) provide deep learnings and an opportunity to experience what the social enterprises have to offer.
[Tom Allen] - From the early days of the bid, the English Family Foundation (EFF) has provided invaluable support. The expertise and assistance provided by EFF CEO, Belinda Morrissey, is something that we’re hugely grateful for. Having seen the bid process unfold, I asked Belinda what outcomes she had already seen as a result of this catalytic project, and where the key opportunities remain, both in the lead up, and then as a legacy?
Bringing the Social Enterprise World Forum to Australia has been a game changer for the sector.
Right from those early days, the Forum has provided us with the opportunity to open up the conversation right across Australia, to talk about the broader developments in the sector and to explore not only the challenges and the barriers faced by the sector, but importantly highlight the incredible vision and passion within it and the social outcomes that it generates.
Right from the beginning, we knew that the Forum would accelerate this momentum and shine a light on this sector. It was always about so much more than the pure logistics of the Forum itself.
We are already seeing wonderful outcomes as a result of this momentum, particularly within the state-based networks and especially within the creation of the South Australia network. These state-based networks have unlocked a more collaborative and cohesive approach across the country. We also believed that hosting the Forum would be a catalyst for the development of a national strategy for the sector and excitingly this is starting to come to fruition.
Personally, it's been such a privilege to chair The Social Enterprise National Strategy Advisory Committee for the past year with an incredible group of social enterprise leaders and the Yunus Centre out of Griffith University who have been a critical partner for this initiative. Thanks to the incredible work of group and particularly the research and involvement of the Yunus Centre, we now have a pragmatic and evidence-based pathway to take this forward and bring it to reality.
The opportunities in the lead up to the Forum exist within these discussions and momentum. It's about bringing an awareness of the value that the sector brings to Australia, both from a social and an economic point of view. It's about increasing opportunities for growth and development for learning and collaboration within the sector and bringing global best practice to Australian practitioners and intermediaries and allowing our domestic players to shine on that global stage. It's also about heightening the legitimacy of the sector and its profile within the growing business for good community. Critically though and more broadly, it's about increasing the awareness and the understanding of what is a social enterprise and bringing this model into the mainstream of Australian awareness. I believe that the greatest legacy that the Forum could leave here in Australia would be to increase the understanding of the benefits of the social enterprise sector and what they already bring and could potentially bring to Australia. This increased understanding will be in both our corporations and consumers, but really importantly within our political leaders. We need this buy-in from our political leaders and other leaders in Australia to really advance the sector. If we can achieve this, then we have truly started to move towards our shared vision of a just and sustainable future for Australia.
The Queensland delegation during an event with Australian Ambassador Peter Doyle in Ethiopia.
[Tom Allen] - A long time leader of working towards that just and sustainable future is Sharon Zivkovic, Co-Founder of Wicked Lab and Community Capacity Builders. As one of South Australia’s leaders and a long time attendee of SEWFs, I asked Sharon what participants usually take away from attending and how SEWF 2022 can create positive change when it comes to the Australian ecosystem and for the state networks?
[Sharon Zivkovic] - Participants usually take away from the Social Enterprise World Forum that they are not only a part of a very supportive community, but they are also part of a social movement.
Each year you take away ideas, connections and inspiration from the achievements your own country and other countries have made in strengthening and advancing the social enterprise movement since the previous year's Social Enterprise World Forum. Attending the Social Enterprise World Forum is definitely a time of celebration.
The thought of Australia holding the 2022 Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane has provided the Australian social enterprise ecosystem with a guiding star which has stretched us for numerous activities including doing the groundwork for developing a national social enterprise strategy, state-based social enterprise networks and the coming together of these state-based networks to form the Alliance of social enterprise networks in Australia. As the date of the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022 comes closer, I can see the Australian social enterprise ecosystem ramping up its desires for the sector even more. But you're already seeing some amazing innovations in the social enterprise sector, thematic networks of social enterprises coming together in Australia operating a solution ecosystems to address complex challenges like food insecurity and long-term unemployment.
These complex challenges are too big for single social enterprises to address. This system social enterprise practice that is emerging in Australia is so unique. When I attend international forums and talk about the systems social enterprise practice that has happened in Australia, people are blown away. At the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022, the Australian social enterprise ecosystem is going to have the opportunity to showcase what is happening here in Australia to the rest of the world. The Australian social enterprise sector has often thought of itself as being a bit late to the party, a bit late in its development of the sector. I think the Australian social enterprise ecosystem and the state networks are going to be so proud during the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022. The Social Enterprise World Forum 2022 as a guiding star has seen us achieve some amazing milestones. Watch this space, because by the time the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022 comes around, we're going to have a lot more achievements to celebrate.
[Tom Allen] - It has always been of absolute priority to the Australian bid to learn from Australia’s rich cultural heritage and First Nations people and practices. I’d like to acknowledge the bid support from the First Nations panel, which consisted of Gaala Watson, Terri Waller, Adele Peek, Troy Casey, Rona Glynn-McDonald, Bianca Stawiarski, Dallas Mugarra and Jacinta Alliung.
I asked Bianca Stawiarski, CEO of Warida Wholistic Wellness how SEWF 2022 might represent a strong opportunity for First Nations people in Australia and around the globe?
[Bianca Stawiarski] - Firstly, as a Badimaya woman, and also as a person who operates an Indigenous social enterprise here in Australia,
the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022 is going to present a really unique and strong opportunity for us as First Nations peoples to show the important connection between community, cultural obligations and connection to country, and how those three linking factors can together provide this really incredible and diverse gift back to the community.
It was quite interesting when I first heard about the social enterprise movement, and I was absolutely amazed because I thought, "isn't that just how we operate our businesses anyway, how can you operate a business without giving back to community? How can you operate a business without thinking in a wider context what your cultural and your community obligations are?" What's going to be fantastic is this is going to be a really unique way for us to all link in together as First Nations peoples within Australia and around the world to showcase the way collective cultures gives back to community, the unique and diverse ways that we operate social enterprises and that at the heart of everything is this strong community obligation to make sure that we are making a difference in our own communities and wider communities too. Hopefully we can get a lot of representation from First Nations peoples across the world at the Forum, and I'm looking forward to the networking that we can do as First Nations peoples to see how we are doing things, learn from each other and to further develop networks on giving back to communities. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope to see you there.
[Tom Allen] - SEWF 2022 is hugely grateful for all the support of existing and future partners. Representing one of the amazing Platinum Partners for SEWF 2022 is Sally McGeoch, Senior Advisor at the Westpac Foundation.
I asked Sally what Australia's youth and upcoming changemakers stand to gain from attending SEWF 2022?
[Sally McGeoch] - I'm really excited about the Social Enterprise World Forum, as I see it as a platform for social enterprise to go mainstream.
It's the perfect time and opportunity for the sector to come together and share evidence of how the social enterprise model is more sustainable, inclusive and leads to better outcomes for people and our planet.
For young people and future change-makers, the Forum is a chance for them to really validate their desire to have greater meaning, purpose and agency in their lives. With the exposure from this forum, social enterprise will no longer be seen as a niche feel good space, but as a way young people can actively support disadvantaged youth as well as other traditionally marginalised groups to be active and valued members of our community. It will set an expectation for how young people make purchasing decisions, seek out jobs with organisations that are purpose-led and identify social enterprise as a more effective and sustainable pathway for at-risk young people to gain training and employment, compared to moving through several low-skilled casualised jobs, or no jobs at all.
By attending the Forum, young people and future change-makers will be able to tap into this well of new ideas, connections and skills to harness their passion to drive change and change the conversation about how we can do business for good with social enterprise leading by example. The Westpac Foundation is excited to be partnering with the Social Enterprise World Forum and playing a role in engaging young people across Australia as well as business, government and other key stakeholders in growing the business for good movement.
[Tom Allen] - SEWF 2022 is also hugely grateful to Platinum Partner, Torrens University. Torrens’ leadership have been at a number of forums, and having attended Ethiopia in 2019, I asked Bryce Ives, VP, Public Affairs and Communications, why SEWF 2022 will be an opportunity that people simply can't miss?
[Bryce Ives] - The Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane, 2022, will come at such an important time globally. Could we have imagined in 2019 when we were in Ethiopia attending that edition of the Forum that in only a few small months we would witness a global disruption of such epic scale?
These past few years, and what we've witnessed, speak to why society needs social enterprise now more than ever before.
2022 is just around the corner, and we'll be coming out of hopefully some of the roughest chapters of this global pandemic. We need a point to unite, so you can't miss the Social Enterprise World Forum in 2022 because Brisbane will be the destination for those of us who are committed to social enterprise.
It will be the time and space to reflect and to ask the big, bold and dangerous questions.
Questions like how will we actually use these past two years? How will we take the lessons from this time and ensure a better future through social enterprise? For us at Torrens University, this is a chance for us to not just support the movement of social enterprise around the world, but also to ensure students from around the world can join this conversation, be up front and centre. Torrens University is unashamedly thrilled by all of this, and we're thrilled to be playing a tiny role in this big global event. See you in 2022!
[Tom Allen] - Beyond the opportunities provided for our youth to be involved, we have a great opportunity to support marginalised groups in Australia. I asked Usman Iftikhar, CEO of Catalysr, how the forum might present a great opportunity for migrants, refugees and marginalised groups?
[Usman Iftikhar] - We are really excited for the SEWF to come here. Australian social enterprises have been doing incredible work in tackling many complex systemic challenges in Australia and locally, we have a very rich ecosystem of social enterprises who have pioneered innovative approaches to supporting migrants, refugees, and other marginalised groups with settlement, education, training, employment and entrepreneurship.
The Social Enterprise World Forum presents this unique opportunity to highlight and showcase this amazing work done by at these incredible enterprises. This is a Global Sisters, Free to Feed, YGAP, Thrive, Migrant Women In Business, Bread and Butter Project. Regional Opportunities Australia, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Health and Services International, Community Migrant Resource Centre, Catalysr
As a migrant and social entrepreneur myself, I'm really excited for this opportunity to meet other partners so we can work with them, collaborate with them, to create the long-term systemic change, to really tough problems that is climate change and the global refugee crisis.
[Tom Allen] - With social procurement providing an enormous lever to create significant impact, I asked Emma Joyce, Social Enterprise Engagement Manager at Social Traders, who attended SEWF Ethiopia in 2019, what she believes will be unique about Australia 2022, and how it might present an opportunity to shift the social procurement landscape for the better?
[Emma Joyce] - SEWF Australia 2022 is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the Australian social enterprise sector to come together as a united group to celebrate, recognise each other's achievements, collaborate and learn.
Having attended SEWF Ethiopia 2019, I know that Australia is already one of the country’s leading the way in social procurement. However, I believe that SEWF 2022 will really strengthen this. This global conference gives us the opportunity to showcase our social enterprise sector and all it has to offer, and to come together as a united sector to demonstrate our strength and potential. Social procurement represents a huge opportunity for social enterprises to tap into demand and scale their impact by scaling their growth.
We can use SEWF 2022 as a catalyst to raise our voices and inspire change. We can use it to grab the attention of government and to get social enterprise and social procurement on their agendas to inspire policy change for the better.
The social procurement landscape in Australia is growing significantly, but it still has a fair way to go. SEWF 2022 is the opportunity for us to push social enterprise procurement into the mainstream to raise awareness, celebrate successes and learn from best practice. In addition to this, SEWF 2022 for me represents the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the Australian social enterprise sector. We have more than 20,000 social enterprises operating in Australia, all with vastly different business and impact models. All of these businesses are contributing to the vibrant, innovative and inspiring sector we have in Australia. I'd love to see this diversity celebrated, and greater awareness of social enterprise brought into mainstream society. Bring on SEWF Australia, 2022!
[Tom Allen] - Matt Pfahlert, CEO of ACRE and long time attendee of the forums presented at the Social Traders Conference in 2019 on The State of Social Enterprise in Australia. I asked Matt that given the current context and sector momentum in Australia, what is the legacy he is hoping SEWF 2022 leaves?
[Matt Pfahlert] - The opportunity that hosting the Social Enterprise World Forum in Brisbane in 2022 represents for Australia is a really pivotal one. That opportunity is about the community more broadly, and our Australian society understanding that social enterprise is not a fringe idea, but instead it's a legitimate business model that considers profits alongside a really deliberate and active contribution to people and the planet.
That's really what social enterprise is about, deliberately wanting to impact positively on the environment, communities that we live in and solve real issues, but do it in such a way that we're using the muscle of business.
The momentum that's currently being gathered by practitioners all over Australia through networks that are being established in all states and territories means that more and more people out there in society are starting to hear about social enterprise. Whilst they don't maybe understand exactly what that means, they keep hearing it as maybe it's a trend. What the Social Enterprise World Forum happening on our shores means is that people can start to understand that this opportunity is about bringing it into the national consciousness, and it being considered alongside a policy framework that could see it being legitimately seen as a third way of doing business in this country. We're really familiar with charities, we're really familiar with commercial organisations, but we're not so familiar with businesses that exist for a social and environmental impact. Realising that this global momentum that's happening can come to our shores, and that a national conversation leading to a national strategy, state, federal, and even local governments starting to embrace these approaches that put the power back in community and in those people who want to solve real issues on the ground. It gives them the tools, the model and the know-how to do that, so I'm so excited about the Social Enterprise World Forum 2022, because I feel like it could be that point in time where we start to believe we understand this concept, we can do this, and let's just make this normal in how we do business in the future.
Panels, workshops and breakouts provide the opportunity to discuss key trends, learnings and insights from around the world.
