There are a growing number of events connected to social entrepreneurship. Many of them happen in our home city, demonstrating what an incredible hub of activity Calgary is. The Trico Foundation team is pleased to attend many of them and wish we could attend more. This list from the last 30 days is our attempt to thank the hosts of these events and help get the word out about their great work.
Are you interested in learning more about social enterprise? Do you have an idea for a new social enterprise that you’d like to develop? Do you want to explore how it could help you achieve your mission and what it would take to launch?
The five days of Beakerhead officially get rolling today with the world’s largest pop-up gallery, called a String (Theory) of Incredible Encounters, with a circumference of five kilometres.
The series of public art installations is an exploration in creativity at the crossroads of art, science and engineering, and can be seen by touring from Inglewood to East Village to Victoria Park, 17th Ave and Kensington. The home base or hub for Beakerhead this year is at Station B (the Beakerhead moniker for installations at Fort Calgary).
Scott Crockett, Director of Marketing & Communications of the Calgary Chamber expresses his excitement for the ground-breaking and innovative event: “Business has incredible power to change the world for good. In fact, business has been one of the greatest forces in human history for raising people out of poverty and solving our greatest challenges as humans. With the rise of social entrepreneurship, it’s clear that doing good in the world can be a great business strategy. I can’t wait to hear from these 5 innovators about how they are doing good and doing well at the same time!”
“The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” –Mark Weiser
Ecovative Design
Written by: Sue Van Hook
Two years ago, Aspire Food Group was just an idea for a pitch contest generated from five MBA students. That vision won the prestigious Hult Prize in 2013 and has transformed into a company at the forefront of the crickets-for-food movement.
Nanoleaf’s journey began when three tree-hugging engineers, Gimmy Chu, Tom Rodinger and Christian Yan, met on the University of Toronto solar car team. Initially joining as a way to gain more experience within their field, they each quickly discovered their passion for green technology while on the team. Little did they know that tinkering with energy efficient cars would eventually become their catalyst and fuel for change.
Fellow Calgarian native Eden Full has known since she was 3 years old that she wanted to be a scientist. Now, at just 23 years old, Full has established herself as an accomplished inventor and social entrepreneur, securing her spot on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Energy list three years in a row.
On September 17, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Calgary’s Glenbow Museum Theatre (130 9 Ave SE) will see a remarkable panel discussion that will bring together an eclectic and inspirational collection of entrepreneurial organizations that are showing how directly taking on the world’s biggest challenges is good business