Social Entrepreneurs Boost Cooperation to Reduce Poverty in Asia
Monday, November 29, 2010
Innovative thinkers working for social change converged in Seoul, Monday, in a bid to boost cooperation towards alleviating poverty and other problems in Asia.
Some 300 agents of change known as social entrepreneurs – those who apply fresh paradigms to solve pressing human issues – gathered in southern Seoul for the second major gathering of the Asian Social Entrepreneurs Summit.
On the first of two days of dialogue at the Kyoyuk Munwha Hoekwan Hotel, tackling poverty was the top agenda item.
“We are now aware that poverty cannot be solved by governments alone,” said Lee Kwang-taek, director of Work Together Foundation, the Seoul-based organization that hosted the event. “Social entrepreneurs in Asia have to solve the problems in cooperation with government, businesses, the private sector and civil society.”
Though Asian poverty is often overshadowed by hunger crises in Africa, hundreds of millions are living below the poverty line in India and the number of working poor is growing across the continent. International poverty-reduction efforts fall short of creating the systemic changes needed to help the poor begin the climb to better conditions.
