The following is a shared post with the Social Enterprise Alliance blog.
The 2010 Social Enterprise Summit and World Forum (#SocEnt10) kicked off Wednesday with a rallying call to Generation Y. As I weaved my way through the hoopla of the Summit showcase and reception I found many organizations that focus a large amount of their time educating and empowering students, youth and anyone else between the ages of 20 and 30.
One of the most interesting nonprofits was Chemists Without Borders. This internationally operating organization is fairly new in the making, but already making a beaker of a splash in the social change movement. “We put a large focus on educating youth in developing countries,” explained Chief Operating Officer K.C. Wang. Wang was enthusiastic that Gen Y can combine their technology driven minds and use chemistry to better the world. One project that Chemists Without Borders has already found success in is the SONO filter. This water purifying system removes arsenic from H20 creating safe drinking water.
The SONO filter is now used in Bangladesh and other parts of South Asia thanks to the NGO and community training Chemists Without Borders has implemented.
Other youth-focused social enterprises at the Summit showcase were AbilityPath, a venture supporting and educating the parents of childern with special needs and S.A.G.E. (Students for the Advancement of Global Leadership) and NextAid, partnering initiatives that are improving the lives of youth in Africa via positive environmental solutions, as well as other organizations focused on child development and education and universities offering new, sustainable career paths.
Day one quickly turned to night and we snaked the streets of San Francisco to attend the Young Professionals Party put on by Sparkseed and the Social Enterprise Alliance. The event was held at the nightclub Temple, which is implementing innovative solutions to lower its carbon footprint. We then had the pleasure of watching ArtinAction, part of the hip-hop collaborative Turf Unity Music Project that brings over 30 San Francisco Bay Area artists together in the urban peace movement.
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