Social enterprises have brought great positive impact worldwide, and today account for 1% of the GDP in the UK. Social innovation powers these enterprises to satisfy the needs of the society where traditional models have been unable to.
In order to promote the culture of social innovation and enrich people’s knowledge on social issues, and to build a platform to encourage the sharing of ideas and experience among Asian cities, the Asia Social Innovation Award was born since 2008. This award aspires to be a pathway to develop the culture of social innovation across the region.
The Award is the first innovative social enterprise event in Asia to apply a simple and easy mechanism to engage the general public to participate in the discussion, and to deliver positive and concrete innovative solutions to tackle these problems. It involves a simple idea-generating competition that attracts the public to take part, and calls for level-zero social innovation ideas.
Eden Strategy Institute LLP is proud to be a supporting corporate partner of this meaningful event.
“Unlike other business case competitions, the Asian Social Innovation Awards is is open to everyone and easy to join,” Says Eden Partner Mr. Calvin Chu.
“The reminds us that anyone can play a role in social innovation,” he says.
For 2011, the Award presents three items on its agenda of Urban Social Problems:
(i) Ageing Population. Fast-greying economic regions in Asia are going to be confronted with the challenges of rising ageing populations. Longevity and low birth rates are the main contributing factors of this phenomenon, and the elder dependency ratio in countries like Japan is already above 20%. To combat this inevitable situation, innovative ideas are needed especially in Hong Kong, Korea, and Singapore. This includes methods to cope with the pressure on healthcare services and long-term medical care required by elderly; the design of various community facilities and infrastructure; the requirements of tailored-design products and services for the elderly, etc. Innovative ideas are needed to help our society adapt to an ageing environment.
(ii) Environment. Asian cities are choking with all types of pollution: air, water, noise, and light. Meanwhile, Asian cities are facing a dilemma in trying to strike the fine balance between development and conservation, and to tackle carbon emissions that lead to global warming, as well as food hygiene and safety, and energy preservation. Creative solutions can possibly help build a more sustainable society.
(iii) Poverty. The degree of urbanization and poverty in Asia varies across cities, but rising Gini coefficients make it evident that income gaps are widening. With the climbing inflation rate, access to basic necessities has become challenging for many. Income disparity also leads to problems of a working poor; elderly poor; difficulties for ethnic minorities and marginal youth to find jobs; housing and food problems; and the complications for those suffering from intergenerational poverty to receive quality education. Ways to alleviate poverty from the bottom-up are required.
Invitations are now open to the public to submit their solutions for these issues, with 16 Oct 2011 23:59hrs as the submission deadline. Ideas will be judged on their originality, viability, and sustainability. There will be 3 winners from cities in Asia, and 3 winners from Hong Kong. Winners of each social issue category will be awarded USD250 and invited to an expense-paid trip to the Awards Presentation Ceremony in Hong Kong.
To submit idea entries, please visit http://www.socialinnovationaward.asia/