Friends-International Executive Director receives Schwab Foundation Asia Social Entrepreneur Of The Year Award
DALIAN/CHINA, 12SEPT09 – •Hilde Schwab (center) , Chairperson and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, stands with the winners of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Asia Sarah Mavrinac (left), Sebastien Marot (second from left), Timothy Ma (second from right) and Disnadda Diskul at The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China 10-12 September 2009.
Copyright World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org/Natalie Behring)
At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian on 10-12 September, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship honoured five Social Entrepreneurs as leading social entrepreneurs in Asia. Executive Director of Friends-International, Sébastien Marot was one of the five recipients of the award.
“This is an important recognition for Friends-International and the work of all its team across the world. This link with the business world will be essential to push further the social entreprise model of our organization”, Sébastien said after the event.
The Social Entrepreneurs received their awards during the closing plenary session. Hilde Schwab, Co-Founder and Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, says, “Social entrepreneurship is a key factor in helping us work through the financial crisis, especially today with Asia playing such a critical role in economic progress and development.”
Social entrepreneurs have an important lesson to share in today’s economic crisis. They emphasize long-term sustainability instead of short-term gain. Their primary focus is to maximize benefits for society and the environment through innovative and effective business models. Their approach to entrepreneurship is one of sustainable economic growth.
About the Schwab Foundation
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship was started by Klaus Schwab, Founder of the World Economic Forum, and his wife, Hilde. Since its inception in 2000, the Foundation has been identifying the world’s leading social entrepreneurs in over 40 countries around the globe. Social entrepreneurs implement innovative and pragmatic solutions to social problems by tackling the root causes and creating social transformation. Selected social entrepreneurs of the Schwab Foundation network participate in World Economic Forum events, thus providing unique opportunities for them to connect with business, political and media leaders. (http://www.schwabfound.org)
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is not tied to political, partisan or national interests. (http://www.weforum.org)
