The 9th National Conference on Social Entrepreneurship is being hosted by XLRI – Xavier School of Management from January 27 to 29. Around 150-170 social entrepreneurs, development sector professionals, policy makers, academicians and management students are expected to assemble and confabulate on the theme – Entrepreneurship for a Sustainable Planet at the three-day conference to be held at the XLRI campus in Jamshedpur.
Elaborating upon the theme, Prof Madhukar Shukla, Chairperson of XLRI’s Fr Arrupe Centre for Ecology and Sustainability and the coordinator for the conference said, “Since the mid–20th century, following the industrial and post-industrial revolution, the size and scale of human enterprises have grown exponentially. However, this growth has also subjected nature, and the manifold benefi ts it provides to humanity, to an increasing risk. Over the last few decades, we have witnessed increasing depletion of forests and natural resources, decline in animal population and extinction of species, increasing pollution of air and water resources, extreme weather conditions, etc.
The 21st century presents humanity with a dual challenge, to maintain the balance of nature in all of its many forms and functions, and to create an equitable home for people on a fi nite planet. While the interdependence between the social, economic and environmental agendas is gradually being recognised at the highest levels (as defi ned in the Sustainable Development Goals), over the years, numerous entrepreneurial individuals have been experimenting and developing models of sustainable living. The learning from such existing benchmarks and models is extremely relevant to inform development strategies, economic models, business models and lifestyle choices.”