The Social Business Excellence Awards 2014 were presented today at the event hosted by the National Research Foundation, in the context of the 2nd Conference “Businessing Differently” to be held in November. The awards are being instituted for the first time in Greece with the main objectives of highlighting and rewarding sustainable business plans of existing or newly established social enterprises in Greece and are an initiative of the British Council and the National Documentation Center, coordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas, in collaboration with the Development Partnership PROSVASIS, and are under the auspices of the Ministry of Development and Competitiveness.
In particular, the awards institution aims to present experienced and new social entrepreneurs, to reward the innovative ideas they develop for the benefit of society and to highlight social entrepreneurship as a key pillar for increasing employment and addressing social exclusion.
At the same time, it aims to support creative entrepreneurship that combines the production of economic surplus value with measurable social impact and to create a network of cooperation and networking between young social entrepreneurs, innovation actors, institutional actors, large businesses in Greece and abroad.
Awards
The categories of the Social Business Excellence Awards 2014 are as follows:
i Social Enterprise of the year 2014
ii Community Impact Award 2014
iii Health & Social Care Social Enterprise 2014
iv Green Social Enterprise 2014
v Education & Culture Social Enterprise 2014
vi Innovation & Technology Social Enterprise 2014
vii Social Enterprise Start-up 2014
The cash prizes of the awards are donated by businesses and institutions. The winners will also have access to business guidance services and support for innovation and extroversion from the co-organizers who have long-standing experience in the field (British Council, National Documentation Center) and networking with more than 54 countries internationally (Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas).
The Awards Evaluation Committee is composed of distinguished individuals from the academic community, private and social entrepreneurship, consulting services, the financial sector and Non-Profit Organizations.
Specifically, it consists of:
President
• Ms. Marianna Moschou, President of the Board of Directors of ELEPAP & President of AS PROSVASIS
Members
• Dr. Konstantinos Geormas, Head of the Social Economy Registry, Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Welfare
• Dr. Panagiotis Alexakis, former President of the ASE, Director of the Center for Financial Studies and Education of the Department of Economics of the University of Athens
• Ms. Anastasia Andritsou, Director of Programs and Collaborations of the British Council
• Mr. Yiannis Lymvaios, President of the Panhellenic Federation of Associations of Parents and Guardians of Persons with Disabilities (POSGKameA)
• Mr. Vasilis Katsos, President of the Board of Directors of Pharmathen SA Pharmaceutical Industry Secretary General of the Board of Directors of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Industry Association (PEF), Member of the Board of Directors of the Panhellenic Exporters Association (PSE)
• Mr. Pantelis Koukos, President of the Association of Management Consultants (SESMA), CEO of the consulting company TEC SA
• Mr. George Toulas, Journalist & Founder – Coordinator of “Thessaloniki Otherwise”
Scientific Associate of the Committee
• Dr. Evi Sahini, Director of the National Documentation Center
Terms and conditions of participation:
The Social Entrepreneurship Awards are open to individuals or groups of individuals or legal entities of any form that are engaged in business in the field of Social Economy and from various sectors including new Information and Communication technologies, the Environment, Elderly and Child Care services, Culture, Tourism, etc.
Interested parties can submit their application electronically at www.social-business-awards.gr from June 9 to September 1, 2014.
The results will be announced at the 2nd Conference “Businessing Differently” which will take place on November 3, 2014 at the Onassis Foundation House of Letters & Arts, with the support of the European Parliament Office in Greece and the European Commission Representation.
The 1st Social Entrepreneurship Conference on “Social Enterprises as a Development Tool” was held in 2013 with great success, attracting a large number of young social (and non-) entrepreneurs and scientists. The 2nd conference “Business Differently 2014” focuses on the trends, opportunities and challenges for the development of sustainable social enterprises in a wide range of economic sectors.
