Ashoka Turkey organized Social Entrepreneurship Day in partnership with VKV
Ashoka, the world's first and largest social entrepreneurship platform, organized the third edition of the annual Social Entrepreneurship Day in partnership with Vehbi Koç Foundation. The event was held online on April 28-29, 2020 with open access to the public, and brought together leaders working to strengthen the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey. During the online sessions, which were followed by nearly 200 people from more than 10 cities , evolving systems and the changing world order were discussed from a social entrepreneurship standpoint. The event’s guests of honor included Jeroo Billimoria, an Ashoka and Schwab Fellow who also leads several civil society projects worlwide to empower children and youth, Bekir Ağırdır, General Manager, KONDA, and Faruk Eczacıbaşı, an Ashoka Support Network Turkey member and Vice Chairman of Eczacıbaşı Holding.
Erdal Yıldırım: “We are pleased to support social entrepreneurship in Turkey”
In his opening speech, Erdal Yıldırım, General Manager, Vehbi Koç Foundation, noted that the Foundation partnered with the Ashoka Turkey team three years ago to support their dream of hosting an social entrepreneurship day, “Our partnership with Ashoka Turkey to promote social entrepreneurship, and to strengthen and expand the ecosystem, together wih a group of organizations continues successfully as part of the ‘Ashoka Support Network Turkey’ program. In the third edition of the Social Entrepreneurship Day, we understand once again that the importance of the social entrepreneurship is growing every day despite the challenges and changing conditions. Particularly in times of crisis, like the one we are experiencing globally right now, we see social enterprises to be more resilient and flexible compared to conventional organizations with their capability to respond quickly to problems and financial models that ensure their sustainability. We are proud and happy to support this hybrid model that promotes philanthropy in Turkey, given that this model is capable of generating systemic solutions to social issues.”
Zeynep Meydanoğlu: “We need partnerships for a country in which everyone is a changemaker”
Zeynep Meydanoğlu, Ashoka Turkey Lead, said, “Our 40 years of experience across the globe and our close collaborations with stakeholders from various sectors including social entrepreneurship in Turkey shows us this: No matter the conditions that we are born into, our education levels or our jobs, we – as those involved in different stages of solving social problems – have common needs. As we design the Social Entrepreneurship Day, we take these needs into consideration. We present topics that require focus and time to deepen in capsule form. We believe in the power of bringing together a group of nearly 200 participants from all corners of Turkey working to resolve social issues around these solution capsules and of the transformative opportunities that change makers can create. As the strategic supporter of Ashoka Turkey’s Social Entrepreneurship Program, Vehbi Koç Foundation is undoubtedly making very valuable contributions to the social entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Foundation is also an active member of the Ashoka Support Network Turkey. We need such partnerships among sectors and actors for a country in which everyone is a changemaker.”
Third edition of the annual Social Entrepreneurship Day
The Social Entrepreneurship Day event, which included 10 workshops and 20 speakers, who are experts in their respective fields, opened with the session “From the Midst of Uncertainty to System Transformation” with Zeynep Meydanoğlu and Jeroo Billimoria. The program also featured the workshop “Youth Movement for Societal Transformation,” supported by Zorlu Holding and the workshop “Covid-19’s Impact and Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurs,” supported by Kearney Turkey. Melis Alphan moderated the session “A System Transformation Story: Women’s Human Rights” with guest Nebahat Akkoç, founder of KAMER, Women’s Rights Foundation and also an Ashoka Fellow. Meanwhile, the session “Understanding Turkey in Coronavirus Days,” moderated by Mirgün Cabas took place with guest Bekir Ağırdır, General Manager of KONDA, a research and consultancy firm. The final session of the event was titled “I Do What I Can” with Selin Gören from the Fridays for Future Turkey team and guest Dr. Uygar Özesmi, an Ashoka Fellow and Director of Change.org Turkey.
The recordings of the live broadcast event can be found on Ashoka Turkey’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFYtf2_onT_UtGBY57BpbA
