Global Social Business Summit (GSBS) 2017

04-09 November, 2017 Paris, France

About GSBS

About GSBS 2017

NEW WAVE OF HOPE!

How to create a new human society

The 8th Global Social Business Summit 2017 will take place in Paris from November 4th – 9th. This edition represents an important step for the social business community we have fostered over the past years, as we are welcoming new participants with different backgrounds to increase our impact and expand our movement. In this spirit, inclusiveness, impact measurement and sustainability are three commitments we are placing at the centre of the organization of the event as well as the dedication to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG´s) of the United Nations (UN).

The GSBS is the worldwide leading forum for social business, non-loss, non-dividend companies with a social goal. It serves to spread awareness about social business, foster discussion and collaboration between practitioners and stakeholders, as well as present and conceive best practices.

The annual event is organized by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and his Creative Advisor Hans Reitz, and gathers experts from the private sector, civil society, governments and academia over a few days of meetings, forums and workshops. The GSBS is a platform where we can create our own space of inspiration and determination, create new value in the face of generational and structural shifts and leverage far-reaching advances in science and technology for our communities.

For the 8th edition of the GSBS, we have designed a program inspired by the 7th principle of social business, “do it with joy!” to provide a breath-taking experience to all participants and to stimulate your creativity through new inspiring platforms for problem-solving. This year we would like to focus on the global challenges plastic pollution, food and its value chain, refugee solidarity, culture, education and the role of cities as well as the Olympic Games and the role of health.

Once again we are gathering renowned and inspirational speakers from social businesses, the business world, the political scene, as well as entrepreneurs, scientists and academics to deliver a conference with high quality content.

On October 10, 2016, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and Professor Muhammad Yunus officially launched the "Maison des Canaux" as the Social Business House in Paris. Mayor Hidalgo invited Yunus Centre and the Grameen Creative Lab to create Yunus Centre Paris and locate it in this building to turn Paris into a social business city.

This initiative is a part of the continuing relationship, friendship and cooperation Professor Yunus has developed with the people, corporates, NGOs, universities, media, book publishers, financial institutions, microcredit community, youth, national leaders and local authorities of France over the years. In recent month it took on a new dimension. Professor Yunus became involved with the world of sports and athletics of France.

Therefore he signed a partnership agreement with the Mayor of Paris and the Paris-2024 Olympic Bid Committee to make the Olympics and Para-Olympic Games of 2024 the most inclusive Games in the history of the Olympics. To develop the momentum Yunus Centre and the Grameen Creative Lab decided to hold the next Global Social Business Summit in Paris, on November 6 and 7, 2017.

"We are excited to welcome you this November in Paris!"

 

Professor Muhammad Yunus

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Chairman of Yunus Centre

Hans Reitz

Head of Global Social Business Summit
Founder of The Grameen Creative Lab

 

 

 

Our Commitments

SUSTAINABILITY


2014 in Mexico, we were challenged by the Young Challengers to go green for the 7th Edition of the Global Social Business Summit in Berlin. As agents of change, we could not be more thrilled to announce our efforts to make this event sustainable. Our goal is to make the preparation of the GSBS transparent so we can share our efforts to place the environment at the heart of the event.

 

INCLUSIVENESS


Making this event inclusive is key to making it successful. Our voices have different backgrounds, cultures, experiences and insights that together create the quality of the content of the GSBS and help us develop social business ideas to produce sustainable change. In a world with inequalities, some of the most important voices are cut out. This is why this year we offer 100€ tickets to participants from Least Developed Countries based on application. We have created a GSBS fund where GSBS participants can support the inclusiveness of this event during their registration.??

 

THE GSBS 100€ TICKET??

If you are a social business entrepreneur currently living in a Least Developed Country, you are encouraged to apply for a GSBS 100€ Ticket under: info@gsbs-2017.com

 

IMPACT


Impact measurement is high on our agenda. We are determined to foster long-lasting relationships between participants and make the closing of the Summit the beginning of great ideas for social businesses rather than the end of them. Using impact measurement tools for the GSBS will identify the progress of the social business movement, along with our strengths and areas of improvement.

 

THE IMPACT OF 7 YEARS GSBS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MARBURG

The Grameen Creative Lab is partnering with the University of Marburg to assess the social impact of 7 years of GSBS in an independent research project. The research group will apply a mixed-methods approach gathering both qualitative and quantitative data. The following sub-questions guide the research:

- What is the significance of temporal platforms like the GSBS to promote the exchange of knowledge, collaboration and network creation?
- What is the qualitative and quantitative impact of 7 years of GSBS?
- How can organizations like the GCL contribute to the global spread of Social Business?