How many projects could change the world at a large scale? How technology could empower people to serve fundamental needs? If you have ever heard about OLPC, you could have some arguments to start a conversation.

HEC has launched in 2008 a Social Business Chair, with the support of Pr.Yunus and Martin Hirsh. For the first time, the students of this track joined a contest, submitting their own ideas to fight poverty and exclusion, through social business solutions. During 3 months, they built on their concept and business model for this “Social Business Lab”. Here is the 6 finalists :

Remember our call for projects on Facebook, Social Business Youngsters? Our winner is Nazia Zebin and her team from Bangladesh. Their project? The Bookworm Revolution, a project that aims at helping young children in rural areas to develop literacy competences, by giving them access to adapted books to their young age.

But, better than us, Nazia tells you her story.

Throughout the world, education has been established as the key to good jobs and high incomes. A few recent researches on education have proved that scholarly culture – the way of life in homes where books are numerous, esteemed, read, and enjoyed- is important for holistic education. The scholarly culture hypothesis holds that reading provides cognitive skills that enhance educational attainment, a cultural toolkit. A home in which books are an integral part of the way of life will encourage children to read for pleasure, thereby providing them with information, vocabulary, imaginative richness, and wide horizons.

(partial translation from our french blog. Please feel free to visit it)

Every week, we are contacted by highly motivated team who have decided to spend several months traveling and studying projects of social entrepreneurs. These particular missions are always taylor-made. We recently launched an "open innovation" task force to share learnings from past experiences and to strengthen upcoming travels in 2012. Thanks to this group, we hope to reach more impact to help the local social businesses visited.  Our group's name ic Travel 4 Change. Thanks to all the organisations which are part of this task force : Babyloan, La Ruche, WiserEarth, Noise, PlaneteEntrepreneur, MakeSens, Lattitude Responsable, CreativEntrepreneurs, Socialter, Drole de Trip, HEC, YunusMovie, Reporter d'Espoir, Youphil,  Facts, Printemps du Bonzai, Lato Sensu, Capa, Groupe SOS, Moovjee, 3petitsGuidons, BNP Paribas, Danone.

Ready to join our cause? Ideas to help? Experiences to be shared ? Please send me an email.

Aside, here is a funny video from Latitude Responsable, who traveled the world to design a business case about Grameen Danone Food, and who are paying a tribute to Matt Harding, famous crazy dancer from Where the hell is Matt.

We continue our series of portraits of members of the community. Today the light is on Lucie Gaudens, blogger and an invested activist in danone.communities.

(via Google Translate)

Who are you ?

Lucie Gaudens 26 years, I worked in the area of communication charge since 2009 and I host a blog dedicated to communication and marketing of non-market environment, com-nonprofit.com

Your meeting with the community

My meeting with the community danone.communities was made by chance. Looking for a position in the sector, I attended a Booster Apec Tour in 2009. The speakers were companies who came to present their projects : Olivier Maurel from danone.communities was part of them. I heard of the actions danone.communities, but it was the first presentation "official " activities I attended. I was immediately interested in its activities dedicated to social business, and especially intrigued by the unique positioning of Danone on the subject. Naturally, I wanted to know more.
Three months later, I attended the meeting "Generation solidarity: reinventing, undertaking" with Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Grand Rex. I have written a few lines on the subject, and my photos and my blog have questioned the DC teams. Soon we exchanged, and I would say, we never quit ! Subsequently, I attended successively the various events organized by the team: General Community Meeting, Meeting Generation Y, evenings DC Connect ... and I'm gradually becoming more invested in the community.

In September 2010, danone.communities initiated the establishment of circles of growth around social business subjects. During several blog posts, members of these circles will introduce themselves, , to "share" the danone.communities community experience.

Who are you ?

I come from a family of artisans, farmers and musicians. For 10 years, I do business in specializing in handicrafts. I started selling chocolate, tea, coffee, and I ended up selling jewelry on the Place Vendôme [ndlr : famous jewelry place in Paris]
In 2010, I decided to take a year off to meet sustainable development professionals as jewelry not yet assumed its social and ecological exploitation of precious metals (gold, platinum, silver) and gems & precious.

Your meeting with the community

In 2010, I was invited through my blog www.construirenotrefutur.fr to participate in the sustainable development annual event of Danone: the Social Innovation Lab.
During the event, I met Olivier Maurel who asked me to participate in the workshops of danone.communities of summer 2010.
I was seduced because social business is a practical application of sustainable development. Initially, I just wanted to write an article on this approach but I finally decided to get involved in a workgroup.