7th September 2015
If someone were to ask you to imagine a business run by children, you might very well conjure the mental image of a boardroom full of kids in suits presided over by Lord Alan Sugar, in a vision similar to The Young Apprentice.
But what if children and young people were taught the skills required to operate a social business from primary school age, and what if they learned that business can be used for the greater good, with a social focus and as a force for positive change in society?
This is just one of the ways that the Social Enterprise Academy seeks to engage and involve people in social enterprise. By taking it into schools, The Social Enterprise Academy is teaching young people the value of social enterprise, and encouraging young people to take the reins and try their hand at starting a social business.
The result of this is Social Enterprise in Education – an initiative set up by the Social Enterprise Academy that aims to give students hands-on experience of running a socially focused business that supports their community with the help of their peers, teachers and Social Enterprise Academy tutors.
Each year the Social Enterprise Academy arranges the Social Enterprise in Education Awards, where the achievements of the schools involved in social enterprises are recognised at a ceremony in Edinburgh. This year it took place at The Hub and the awards were presented to the 21 schools from Southern and Central Scotland that took part in the programme this year by Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for Learning, Science & Scotland’s Language.
This short magazine style programme covers the event in some detail including:
- Various schools detailing their social enterprises
- The opening speech by Neil McLean, Chair of the Social Enterprise Academy
- And a short presentation about the energy of bringing social enterprise into schools by one of SEA’s tutors Jay Lamb.
Links
Social Enterprise Academy
Social Enterprise in Education
SEA on Twitter
SEA on Facebook