The Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Program of Social Economy, held the 3rd “Ewha Social Impact Forum”
- Date2021.02.08
- 5385
2021 3rd Ewha Social Impact Forum
“For Diversity and Inclusiveness”
The Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Program of Social Economy (Department Chair: Prof. So-hyun Joo) held the "Ewha Social Impact Forum" on February 5 at Lee-Sam-Bong Hall, with the theme of “For Diversity and Inclusiveness.” The Forum was live-streamed on YouTube.
This forum marks its third anniversary this year, and it introduces the academic outcomes of social economic activities and innovative examples. Experts from various fields attended.
President Heisook Kim said in a congratulatory speech, "At a time of deepening social polarization, it is very timely to discuss sustainable diversity and inclusion."
Prior to the session, Sang-mok Seo, chairman of the Korea National Council on Social Welfare(KNCSW), encouraged the forum to create social value beyond economic growth and expanding social welfare. Hyung-hee Lee, chairman of the SK Social Value Committee, said that he hopes the forum can serve as an opportunity to spread the value of social economy. In addition, In-sun Kim, president of Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency(KoSEA), said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the seriousness of climate change and social inequality. With this regard, I highly support this forum highlighting ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance), which are important values in this era." Lastly, Young Rok Song, CEO of MetLife Korea, said, "Metlife Life shares the values of diversity and inclusion as it actively discovers and fosters social enterprises."
The first session began with a keynote speech by Prof. Jong-gul Kim at Hanyang University, "Why is the social economy important?" Through this lecture, we introduced many social economic examples of residents working together and solving problems in poor neighbors around the world, and stressed that we could feel true happiness when we help and care for others, which is why we need a social economy. It was followed by lectures by professors at Ehwa. First, Prof. Sung Ae Jung of the Department of Medicine shared various and sustainable experiences of creating social impacts. Throughout her lecture, “The secrets of Social Impact,“ she talked about social impacts covering network, teamwork, owner awareness, risk management, and philanthropy, leading to a quantitative growth of 1 to 3,000 people and KRW 10million to KRW 30 billion in 10 years. Prof. Jeongkoo Yoon of the Division of Business Administration then emphasized that when companies bring meaningful changes to society, the corporate values soared. Finally, Prof. Sang Mi Cho of the Department of Social Welfare gave a lecture on the concept and history of citizenship to solve social problems in the new era and suggested the future direction in the relationship between citizenship, community, and social economy.
In the second session, the outcomes of Ewha's social economic research were presented. It was a meaningful time to share research outcomes including meta-analysis of social enterprise performance, factors for revitalizing social venture ecosystem, role of social economic organization amid Covid-19, and intellectual structure of joint production research in social science.
In the third session, some cases of the “Ewha Social Impact Review” were presented. First, a presentation on the achievements and challenges of employment of people with developmental disabilities was given. It was followed by a presentation on inclusive employment and organizational culture. AT last, a presentation dealt with the process of forming a “female empowerment ecosystem.”
The fourth session presented an award-winning work at the <Social Economy Startup Academy>, which was held from September 17 to November 12, 2020. First of all, the grand prize winner presented a “magazine for eco-friendly products based on YouTube content”. Another student shared her business experience of “education services to narrow the gap among elementary school students." In addition, presentation on "a Korean language education application for international marriage migrant women in South Kore," "a senior-friendly healthy food platform," and "a business model of selling North-Korean-style kimchi for helping young North Korean defectors" were followed.
At the final stage of the event, Ewha Concert, a male choir of 10 professors of Ewha who have shown great performances at every major school events made the forum more pleasant with songs such as "Hallelujah Saints," "Someone is praying for You," and "My Love for You".
This year, more than 2,000 audiences participated in the forum through real-time YouTube live broadcast amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sang Mi Cho, Dean of School of Continuing Education, said, "Everyone who has participated in this forum has empathy for others and passion for making a better society. The definition of ‘social economy’ can vary depending on your viewpoints, but I hope that today's forum can be a platform for us to better understand each other’s social economic activities, social values as well as to promote social impact, diversity, and inclusion."
The Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Program of Social Economy is the first master's and doctorate program in the social economy in Korea. Under the program, total 15 departments — including Architecture, Business Administration, Economics, Climate and Energy Systems, Law, North Korean Studies, Social Welfare, Industrial Design, and Consumer Studies — have worked together with Ewha Start-up Academy. The program has been making various attempts to connect theory and field through providing a unique curriculum, hosting start-up competitions, and publishing a magazine called "Ewha Social Economy Review."