From Problems to Solutions, With Michael Norton: Green Drinks March Forum

We know that our world is full of problems:

• The air we breathe and the water we drink
• The cities we live in and our well-being
• Global warming
• Ageing and special needs
• Growing wealth gap, inequality and poverty, in the world and in China
• The unpredictable future of work with robots and AI

Challenges seem endless and we see an urgent need to:

1. Encourage and support more social entrepreneurs to turn ideas into solutions.
2. Make start ups more social; B-Corp, a new and growing movement.
3. Create sustainable business models and bring in more business skills alongside the social aims
4. Engage businesses in helping change the world

The time is right. There is a big future for social innovation in China. Trends we have seen include:

• A real mood for doing, especially amongst young people
• China government focus on social innovation, centrally and locally
• Leadership in the world, especially post-Trump
• Access to technology and manufacturing

Join the Green Drinks March Forum for a discussion with Michael Norton on how he sees the world changing, positive projects and solutions he is a part of, where are the biggest opportunities, and how can social entrepreneurs overcome challenges to grow their enterprises, and thus, impact.

Event Itinerary

• 18:20-19:15 Registration, drinks & networking
• 19:15-19:45 Presentation by Michael Norton
• 19:45-20:30 Q&A / Discussion
• 20:30-21:00 Drinks & Networking / Event Ends

About Michael Norton

A ‘serial social entrepreneur’, in 1993 Michael commissioned action-research for six social ventures on their franchise potential, held a national conference and published an accompanying handbook on ‘Charity Franchising’. In 1995 he established the Centre for Innovation in Voluntary Action to promote innovation, and has successfully replicated a range of social ventures including foundations run by young people (YouthBank), street children’s banks in South Asia (Children’s Development Bank), and crisis helplines for vulnerable children (ChildLine India).

In 2001, Michael conceived and co-founded UnLtd: the foundation for social entrepreneurs in the UK, which received an endowment of £100 million from the UK Lottery. UnLtd supports some 2,000 early-stage social entrepreneurs a year. Michael then replicated this foundation in India and South Africa. Michael is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town business school and a Professor at the China Global Philanthropy Institute in Shenzhen.

For Michael's detailed profile visit: http://civa.org.uk/michael-norton/