Week 1: Social Innovation
1.The theme of the articles and videos assigned this week is social entrepreneurship and innovation. The first article was entitled The Meaning of “Social Entrepreneurship” by J. Gregory Dees. Dees defines social entrepreneurship as an endeavor to change the way a system works to further a social cause. He explains the challenges that face social entrepreneurs and the skill set they need to succeed.
The second article was about the organization, The Skoll Foundation, and describes how they fund social entrepreneurs to tackle some of the earth’s most pressing problems.
The Skoll Foundation produced the first video I watched with “belief” as the theme of the video. It talks about how important belief, or faith, is when you are a social entrepreneur.
The second video was a video describing what exactly social entrepreneurs do.
The last video is an introductory video to the Ballard Center at BYU. It talks about how students at the Y are contributing to the concepts behind social entrepreneurship.
2.I loved learning about social innovation and entrepreneurship. I had no idea about the concept of social innovation until I started this class. I have wanted to do this all my life and I am grateful to know now there is a place for my dream. After reading these materials I was extremely excited to learn more, but what was most surprising was the frustration that surfaced in me. There is a program at BYU that allows students to become involved but there is nothing here at BYU-Idaho. I want that to change. I want to make sure that all students have a chance to be more involved and to be aware of the opportunities that are in front of them.
3.Social innovation is becoming more prevalent today because the world is currently facing some serious social problems and the systems that are trying to do something about it have room to grow. Change in the world needs to happen and social innovation will be the driving factor to see that change take place.
https://centers.fuqua.duke.edu/case/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2015/03/Article_Dees_MeaningofSocialEntrepreneurship_2001.pdf
http://skoll.org/about/approach/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPXbts5XsCo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i7L6nOkQFo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-20dnyLXKQ
