CABINET OFFICE News
Release (CAB/087/07) issued by The Government News Network on 15
November 2007
Please see bottom
of Press Notice for list of events attended by Government
Ministers on the day.
New generation of social entrepreneurs gear up to inspire the
nation
Ministers across Government are set to join forces with
social entrepreneurs up and down the country in a day of events to
inspire a new generation to work for or set up businesses with
social or environmental goals.
Hundreds of pupils and young people across England are taking
part in events celebrating the achievements of social
entrepreneurs, and in keeping with the youth theme of this
year's Social Enterprise Day the Government is announcing
that GCSE business studies students will study social enterprise
as a core part of the syllabus from September 2008.
In
addition, thousands of aspiring and existing social enterprises
will benefit from a new guide offering specialist business
information and advice, being launched today on Businesslink.gov.
As part of other activities happening on Social Enterprise Day,
thousands of votes are expected to be cast online today as young
people choose their favourite idea to change the world, expressed
in just one minute, in Make Your Mark in 60 Seconds - a
competition led by the Government-backed Make Your Mark campaign
to promote enterprise to young people and hosted by the social
networking site bebo. The winner, to be announced at 18.00 today
by Cabinet Office Minister Phil Hope and Enterprise Minister
Stephen Timms, will receive a £5,000 Award from UnLtd to make
their idea happen. The second phase of the competition will then
start - challenging young people all over the country to come up
with their own 60 second pitch to change lives.
Another exciting initiative - a Commission for Youth Social
Entrepreneurship, the first ever youth-led organisation to
represent social enterprise - is also due to be launched today at
a Treasury-hosted event attended by Cabinet Office Ministers Ed
Miliband and Phil Hope and Treasury Minister Jane Kennedy.
Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband said:
"The enthusiasm with which social enterprise is being
embraced around the country reflects the desire among many -
especially young people - to be more ethical in their choices and
actions. I want to see a new generation of social entrepreneurs
inspired to dedicate themselves to a way of doing business that
combines making money with having a significant positive impact on
our communities and environment.
"Just one year on from the launch of the Government's
Social Enterprise Action Plan, I am delighted with the progress
we've made - from getting social enterprise onto the GCSE
business studies syllabus, to appointing ambassadors like The
Apprentice's Tim Campbell to champion social enterprise in
classrooms and boardrooms alike.
"We are in the foothills of what the social enterprise
movement can achieve, and I welcome the progress being made by
departments across Government to embrace social enterprises and
their capacity to profoundly change society for the better."
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, including social
enterprise, said:
"As Minister responsible for social enterprise it is my
mission to see today's social enterprises turn into a wave of
businesses which are changing lives and society while turning a
profit. The Government is working to achieve that by raising
awareness of what social enterprises can achieve, inspiring young
people to seek a career in social enterprise and equipping them
with relevant knowledge and skills, while providing better access
to finance and information for the current and would-be social
entrepreneurs already out there."
Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise
Coalition said:
"Social Enterprise Day is a great opportunity for us to
showcase the power of using business as a tool to tackle social
and environmental issues, while celebrating the work of thousands
of incredible social enterprises right across the UK.
"We are extremely happy that social enterprise will
definitely be a core part of the GCSE business studies syllabus
from next year. We know that young people want to combine their
ambition to succeed with their passion to change the world and
teaching about them social enterprise at an early age gives them a
real opportunity to do that."
Exactly one year on from the launch of the Government's
Social Enterprise Action Plan, the Cabinet Office also published
today a series of "think pieces" written by five leading
social and business thinkers including Charles Leadbeater. The
authors assess the long term role of social enterprise in the
context of ethical markets, social value innovation and employment
with the aim of generating debate and ideas for future government policy.
TOP FIVE FACTS ABOUT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
1. There are an estimated 55,000 social enterprises in the UK.*
2. The combined turnover of social enterprise is estimated to be
£27 billion a year with a contribution to GDP of around £8.4 billion.*
3. Divine Chocolate is the 2007 national social enterprise of the year.
4. Well known social enterprises include Cafedirect, The Big
Issue, The Co-operative Group, the Eden Project and Jamie
Oliver's Fifteen.
5. Social enterprise is defined as a 'business with
primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally
reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community,
rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for
shareholders and owners'.
*Facts 1 and 2 derived from data in the 2005 Annual Small
Business Survey.
ENDS
Notes to editors:.
1. For further information on this story please contact Emma
Heywood at the Cabinet Office press office on 020 7276 3472 or
Steve Coomber on 020 7276 0836.
2. Social Enterprise Day is part of Enterprise Week (12-18
November), a national celebration of enterprise in all its forms
with thousands of events and activities happening across the UK.
It is part of the Make Your Mark campaign to create an enterprise
culture in the UK, run by Enterprise Insight (Ei) and backed by
government. For more information about the Make Your Mark campaign
and Make Your Mark in 60 Seconds, please contact Amy MacLaren at
Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666.
3. Enterprise Insight is working with the Office of the Third
Sector, based in the Cabinet Office, the Social Enterprise
Coalition (SEC), and a wider partnership including What If, UnLtd
and many others to drive forward the Make Your Mark: Change Lives
campaign to raise awareness of social enterprise among young people.
4. For more information about the Social Enterprise Coalition and
the Social Enterprise Ambassadors, please contact Katy Duke on 020
7793 2318 or visit the following websites: http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk;
http://www.socialenterpriseambassdors.org.uk
5. For more information about the Commission for Youth Social
Entrepreneurship launching today, please contact Justine Law at
UnLtd on 020 7566 1118.
6. The Government's Social Enterprise action plan: Scaling
New Heights, was launched by Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the
Exchequer, on 17 November 2006. Please refer to Cabinet Office
press release CAB/0678/06. The action plan is available on the
Office of the Third Sector website at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/se_action_plan_2006.pdf
7. A flyer outlining the Government's progress against the
Social Enterprise action plan is downloadable at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/the_third_sector
Cabinet Office Press Office 22 Whitehall LONDON SW1A 2WH
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