By Kim Young-jin
Entrepreneurs working for social change in Asia crafted an agreement Tuesday calling for increased cooperation in tackling poverty across the continent.
On the second day of a major international gathering of social entrepreneurs ― those who apply innovative solutions for urgent human issues ― some 300 participants composed a “Seoul Declaration” to cement their growing network and point the way forward for alleviating poverty.
The declaration came after two days of deliberations at the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Summit (ASES) 2010, which was held at the Seoul Education Culture Center in southern Seoul and closed later in the day. The participants represented social businesses from 15 advanced and emerging economies from around Asia.
More than half of the world’s poor live in Asia, including India, where hundreds of millions are below the poverty line and the number of working poor in developed countries is increasing as well. International efforts to reduce poverty were hit by the worldwide financial crisis.
Towards its goals, the document pledges to establish a network to facilitate “close and borderless cooperation between regions” as well as greater investment in social enterprises.
“The declaration is important in that it sets up the common goals of social entrepreneurs in Asia,” Lee Kwang-taek, executive director of the Work Together Foundation, which hosted the event. “It addresses poverty not only in developing countries but also advanced nations.”
The document stressed the importance of bringing cultural resources to the poor, citing previous work that showed a correlation between cultural activity to quality of life and eventual self reliance. “They become producers of their own solutions, when given respect for their traditions, self-esteem and identities,” it said.
It called for social enterprises to increase efforts to involve and empower local communities and also create a database collecting the best practices to assist up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
In addition, business models will be created to assist entrepreneurs establish accountable and transparent leadership systems.
Participants came from a broad cross-section of Asia and represented various endeavors from those working directly with at-risk communities to those bridging the gap between advanced and developing nations. Nations represented included Bangladesh, China, India, Japan Singapore, and Malaysia.
Lee hailed the participants for creating a network and highlighted the significance of the effort.
“We cannot change the society of the world alone. Not only do we need the help of governments and civil society, we need a combined effort among us as well.”
It was the second ASES gathering after the inaugural event in 2008. This year saw a major jump in participation, including some 100 more guests from several additional countries.