Final Post - BZSE

This will be my final post!

So today I am going to share about some of my experiences in the three years of BZSE.

Firstly, awesome classmates! Really one batch of friendly and caring people with great dreams and lovely passion for the society.

Secondly, awesome teachers! Though sometimes we are really dying from their assignments and work but after all the hard work put in, regardless of the grades, we learn many things from it and it is through hard work than we realized the importance of knowledge and the things that can never be taught in lectures!

Thirdly, BEST COURSE! In these three years, there are happiness, sad, angry, sweet, touching and lovely moments that I could never forget. The first trip to Cambodia, the first time we stay in Ourspace to do work, conflicts in group projects, dying from writing essays, etc

Last but not least, knowing the meaning and purpose of the existence of Social Enterprise! <3

Week 16: Trip to Dignity Kitchen

Today, I will be sharing a short post on my takeaway from Dignity Kitchen.

I am truly impressed the way it help the physically and mentally challenged people. Below are some of the key learning points that I learnt:

To be determine! In order to succeed, determination is a very important factor in life. From Mr Koh Seng Choon, I realised that he is one person that I truly admired. He mentioned "People with disability are enabled in many ways". If they want to do something, they can do it because they have more determination than the rest of us, the 'normal' people.

It is not what we learn from the people there, it is the spirit that WE learn from them. They are disabled but they can achieve more than what we can.  

The second learning point is that have big dreams but take small steps. It is important to go step by step to achieve your goal rather than putting unnecessary stress on yourself. And with the little steps that you take you will see improvements and that is the motivation that will keep you going! 

There are many many lessons that I have learnt from Mr Koh and his people! I will definitely make a second, third and more trips down to Dignity Kitchen! GREAT FOOD AWESOME PEOPLE! <3 

Week 15: Singapore Could Take Regional Lead in Social Enterprise

Singapore Could Take Regional Lead in Social Enterprise

  

Singapore International Foundation (SIF) held the forum "Ideas for a Better World" on 29 February 2012, with the intention to addresses the need to nurture new generations of social entrepreneurs. I have been to forums like this and I have to say that such forums are definitely meaningful and useful as it provides a platform for youths with the same interest and passion to share ideas and network with each other. Also, many experienced and successful entrepreneurs are more than willingly to share valuable ‘tips’ with the youths.

In the world today, more and more youth are thinking of starting up their own social enterprise as they see social enterprise as a bridge between democracy and capitalism as they develop a sense of togetherness in a community by providing a means to engage in social welfare. And also our generations are definitely working towards a more socially minded society and it actually cultivates youths to initiate a national spirit of social entrepreneurship. This is so as more youths are exposed to the social problems that is surfacing and happening around us and the world.

Globalisation is one that causes more social issues but is one that helps to bring more people together and to be determined to make a change in the world today. I feel that in time to come more and more youths will be more risk taking and have good social entrepreneur spirit. This is so as our generation and the future generations will become more and more socially conscious and more and more innovative and creative in dealing with social issues that needed to be addressed.  

And I believe that even though Singapore is just a ‘red dot’ in the eyes of many, there are still a lot of things we can do and in fact we can do better than the rest. Social enterprise benefits the society in many ways, in Singapore as individuals are becoming more socially conscious, they realised the potential growth of this sector. Also, this actually helps to cultivate good culture practice by building up a caring and loving society in Singapore.  

Personally I feel that the education of good values is more important than getting good grades and decent certificate. Therefore, more of such forums should be held in Singapore, and not forgetting about our social media, ideas can be shared more easily over the internet.

I believe that with the support and the active involvement of our government, people and schools, aSingapore will be able to take lead in the Social enterprise sector! 

References:

Young Up Starts. (2012). Singapore could take regional lead in social enterprise: Mechai Viravaidy. Retrieved February 1 2013, from http://www.youngupstarts.com/2012/03/05/singapore-could-take-regional-lead-in-social-enterprise-mechai-viravaidya/

Week 14: Start: The social minded global citizen in us

http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/39460.aspx 

In today’s post I would like to share about my views on socially conscious world citizen in us.

As many of us know, the world is developing rapidly in terms of technology and infrastructure; physical boundaries between countries become much less apparent.

Many people in Singapore have to give in to reality by been ‘selfish’; thus, many are working very hard for the 5C's, (Car, Cash, Condominium, Credit Card & Country Club). We have been brainwashed into becoming self-centered and self-interested human beings by having the intention of wanting the BEST and being one of the BEST and Rich.

I strongly believe that if the society weren’t so realistic, many would love to help and there would be less news on robbery, cheats etc. Once, we share, we care, we love for everyone. Now, we still share and care and love but for ourself. And if we were to look into the recent SMRT case, I actually feel bad for the drivers. They have no choice but to come to Singapore to earn a living and we Singaporean not only take them for granted but we also mistreat them by asking them to go back if they are not happy.

I ask myself, aren’t we suppose to thank them for helping us to do the job that not many would want to do due to the low pay and heavy workload. Why are we calling them names, taking them for granted and giving them a hard time? I believe that no one would want to feel inferior especially when they are in a foreign country.

Don’t we still have that heart for the community and the less fortunate? Therefore, I believe that in the heart of everyone there we are socially conscious; we just need to show it. A little smile and friendly gesture by each and every one of us will really make a difference. And the world would definitely be a better and more loving place to live in. And with the kindness and generosity of Singaporean, I believe that we can do a better job than any other people! SMILE (: BE A TRUE SOCIAL MINDED GLOBAL CITIZEN 

Week 13: Is 'profit' a dirty word in the world of Social Enterprise?

In today's post, i will be sharing about my view on the topic: Is 'profit' a dirty word in the world of Social Enterprise?

Social Enterprise is a business with a social objective, therefore, it operates just like other business that generates profits for sustainability, the difference of social enterprise from normal business is that it has a social objective which serve to serve/help the community. Business uses double bottom line: Profits and People while Social Enterprise uses triple bottom line: Planet, People and Profit. but there should be no doubt that any business needs to generate profits before they think of contributing back to the society. This is to ensure the sustainability of its business model. 

Even though social enterprise is still not widely known by the public and many are still skeptical about the organisation work ethics and do not know the objective and the business model that is used by them. Also, there is very little publicity of social enterprise and what makes the situation worse is the negative perceptions the media portrayed making people became doubtful of the 'motive' of social enterprise. And more people actually think that social enterprises are another form of 'charity'. 

Therefore, many do not understand why social enterprise needs to earn profit since they are 'charity'. Hence, it is very important to change the misconception of the public about social enterprise. Moreover, I feel that 'profit' is definitely not a dirty word to use as social enterprise must be profitable in order to be sustainable and successful. This is so as the profits will be better used to help more people and also, if a business is not making money how can it benefit and help the community? 

Thus I think that since social enterprise is a fast-growing sector there should be more support from the public when they understand more about social enterprises through the work they have done and through the media.
Also, another way to show that social enterprise is different from business, accountability and transparency is very important. If the organisation has good corporate governance practice and good organization culture, I believe that they will definitely have a good stand in the world today. 

While social enterprise starts to expand, I believe more and more people will understand the need for social enterprise to be profitable!

References:
Higham, S. (2012). Is 'profit' a dirty word in the world of social enterprise? Retrieved January 17 2013, from https://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2012/may/17/profit-dirty-word-social-enterprise

Week 12: Social Enterprise - Low Public Awareness

Social Enterprise - Low Public Awareness

Singapore Social Enterprise Association (SEA) conducted a study on 2000 respondents, out of 2000 respondents, only 13% knew the meaning of "social enterprise" and only 2% of those who know, could name an existing SE correctly. This shows that even though there have been more social enterprises but the level of awareness of social enterprise is very very low.

And out of the 2% of the 13% of the respondents, only the "successful" and somewhat famous Social Enterprises in Singapore, like Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprise (SCORE) and the cafe Eighteen Chefs, the ones that they could think of.

However, more than half of the 2000 respondents would support social enterprises if they know what a social enterprise is. Hence, we could safely say that the public are not stereotyping social enterprise with charities/business. The reason why many people are not supporting social enterprises is due to the confusing bottom line that is not communicate to the public properly. This is so as many social enterprise are trying to get ‘sympathy; from the public, resulting in the misconception of the public about social enterprises. Therefore, people would not support what they are unfamiliar with or do not know about.

Hence, it is very important to develop a high level of awareness for social enterprise because of the potential social impact and the economic benefits that SEs can generate. Also with a high level of awareness of social enterprises will also increase the interest and media coverage of social enterprises in Singapore. With many underlying social problems in Singapore, social enterprise is definitely one of the best ways to help the less fortunate and to also give them a opportunity to survive in the world today.  

Also, the Social Enterprise Association has stated that it would work more closely with the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry to publicize more about social enterprises. Even with the help of SEA and MCYS publicizing, I think that social enterprises themselves should also come up with their own marketing strategy and campaigns instead of waiting for others to help them. Also, social enterprises should spend more efforts to let the public know about what they do in order to correct the misconception that social enterprises are charities by sharing about how their business models work.

Reference:
Grosse,S. (2011). Study shows low public awareness of Social Enterprises in S'pore. Retrieved January 11, 2013 from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1150901/1/.html

Week 11: Hawker Centre a Social Enterprise

In today’s post, I will be sharing about a new hawker centre at Bukit Panjang would be run by a social enterprise or cooperative. This is another hawker that is run by a social enterprise, the other one that I have known of is Dignity Kitchen. This is a very creative and innovative way. Many though how can setting up a hawker help. 

In the modern society, the marginalized, especially the disabled are deprived of basic employment rights. Akin to Dignity Kitchen, a training school cum food centre operator, the new hawker centres will serve to provide employment for people who struggle to enter labour market habitually – the less privileged or those with disabilities. To me, I think that this is considering one of the best ways that would help the needy in Singapore. This is so as most of the people who needs help in Singapore are those without a decent qualification and a little old with no experience. 

Therefore, this is definitely one opportunity for them to earn a living without been deprived of dignity. And with this, people can see that even with a simple concept like this would help people. Most of the time, we think too complicated while the solutions are actually very simple. By setting up a hawker centre, more can get jobs or even have their own stall, this could have the owner to earn a decent income and in the meanwhile, providing more employment opportunity to earn themselves a decent living. 

Furthermore, hawker centres are places that majority of Singaporeans would visit. Through interacting with people from social enterprises at the hawker centre at Bukit Panjang, they are able to be more aware of what social enterprises are. In this fashion, we can build an inclusive society where people change their attitude towards the marginalized, giving back their self-respect and dignity and also the opportunities they well-deserved to be successful in life.

References:

Hawker centre to be run by social enterprise. (2012, May 13). TODAYOnline. Retrieved January 4, 2013 from http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120513-0000035/Hawker-centre-to-be-run-by-social-enterprise