Today's blog post is based on my own navel gazing as I seek to find ways to earn a livelihood, whilst solving social and/or environmental problems. For me there is no such thing as work/life balance.......it is all LIFE.
My problem seems to be more economic: I have a floundering social enterprise.
It does not cost me much to keep it ticking over, but it is not returning on my investments of time or money either.
I attended a lecture this morning at the Ideas Festival titled: Inclusive Australia: Is there a place for profit in social enterprise?
Simon McKeon is amongst other things the Chairman of the CSIRO and a board member of World Vision. He is also Australian of the Year.
Simon was engaging & interesting. He said lots of things about including women, aging populations & people with disabilities & disadvantages into the workforce......but the workforce he described seemed quite entrenched in modern paradigms.
He was hopeful that using genetically altered plants to produce omega 3 fatty acids was going to reduce dependence on wild fish stocks. Simon seemed to think GM is a really good idea. I am not so sure.
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about Corporate Social Responsibility. I struggle with the concept of business who are seeking to be socially responsible when their core businesses &/or mission statements are socially destructive (like fossil fuels or tobacco or industrial food).
I have not refined my concept of a Social Enterprise but I am seeking models of enterprise that are a little different.......I am looking for ways that I (and others) can meet our humans needs and/or provide for our dependents & achieve social objectives.
I love the work that Food Connect are doing. My challenge (for myself) is to find commercial solutions for environmental problems. I would love to be part of a business that employs stay-at-home parents, semi-retired professionals & people with disabilities.
I love the work of Hub Melbourne and/or the School of Social Entrepreneurs and/or Think Act Live
No comments:
Post a Comment