স্কুল অব অন্ট্রপ্রিনিয়ারশিপ ডেভলপমেন্ট এর সিইও, মোহাম্মদ আমান উল্লাহ আমান বলেন, ‘আমরা যদি তরুণদেরকে বর্তমান প্রতিযোগিতামূলক বাজারে ডিজিটাল মার্কেটিংয়ের সার্বিক বিষয়ে দক্ষ করে তুলতে পারি, তাহলে বাংলাদেশ ও বিদেশে প্রচুর পরিমাণ কর্মসংস্থান সৃষ্টি করতে পারবে। বেকারত্ব দূরীকরণে আমাদের সবাইকে সরকারের পাশাপাশি এগিয়ে আশা উচিৎ।’
অনুষ্ঠানের প্রধান বক্তা হিসেবে ছিলেন এম শামসুজ্জামান, ডাইরেক্টর এসিআই ফর্মুলেশন লিমিটেড। তিনি বলেন, ‘প্রতিটি ব্যবসায়ের ক্ষেত্রে পণ্য বা সেবায় বিশ্বমান নিশ্চিত করা খুবই জরুরি। অন্যথায় বর্তমান প্রতিযোগিতামূলক বাজারে বাংলাদেশের টিকে থাকা অনেক কঠিন হবে।’

অনুষ্ঠান শেষে তরুণদের মধ্যে সেরা অংশগ্রহণকারী এবং সংগঠকদের মধ্যে পুরস্কার বিতরণ করা হয়।

1. Can you tell us about your journey and what inspired you to pursue social entrepreneurship?

My name is Eve, and I’m from France. I first studied philosophy and project coordination before continuing my studies with a master’s degree in sports management. I first became interested in social entrepreneurship when I went to live in Japan for 1 year. I’d always developed impact projects through sports (particularly judo) or associations, but when I went to Japan, I realized the international scope and the need for projects to be self-financing over the long term.

2. What key skills have you gained from your diverse experiences in sports and sustainable development?

The main skill I’ve developed is project coordination: how to create synergies between different stakeholders and duplicate a pilot action to scale up and have a bigger and more interesting impact, taking into account the environment and culture.

3. Can you describe a specific project you worked on that made a significant impact on you?

I’m now working on a number of projects. The first that had an impact on me was developing judo for prisoners in Japan. I realized how sport could be used as a vehicle for social change, by giving these people back consideration, an identity and a place in society. Being a prisoner in Japan is very difficult on a social level: you can lose ties with your family and the respect of society. Judo was the gateway to a normal life after that. It was then that I decided to specialize and continue professionalizing in the sports movement.

4. What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?

The most difficult moment of my career was at Covid 19. I had just graduated from my Masters and was ready to start my professional life. The majority of opportunities in the development sports sector were blocked. There were no more competitions or sporting events open to the public. The Tokyo Games were postponed for a year and closed to the public. It was a very special atmosphere. My internship as a marketing assistant and champion for peace at Peace and Sport was cut short because of the pandemic. I decided to move to Switzerland to start my career, working for Décathlon as a sales leader in Lausanne, home of the IOC, to develop my networks and activities around sport for people with disabilities and social inclusion.

5. Why is promoting social inclusion and disability in sports important to you?

I think we have everything to gain from inclusion, from new ways of thinking and looking at problems. We all have different abilities and skills. A narrow view of what’s normal and what’s not can trap us all in unfulfilling patterns of thinking.

We can all find ourselves in a situation of disability, for example when we travel and do not speak the language of the country. This is why travel also opened my mind, to see how there are different ways of living and conceiving the world.

6. What concrete initiatives have you implemented to promote inclusion for individuals with disabilities in sports?

I worked in sport for inclusion in France and Switzerland, through adapted sports and physical practice but also in inclusion by offering the sports club to welcome people with disabilities. I worked on a platform allowing clubs to form very easily with a guide to be more inclusive and for disabled people to find a sport near them that offers the sport they want. Now I am a program coordinator at Yunus Sports Hub. I coordinate many programs around social entrepreneurship for young people, athletes and organizations. Many social businesses use inclusion and the circular economy to innovate.

7. What are the main barriers to social inclusion in sports, and how can we overcome them?

I think the biggest barriers to inclusion through sport are people’s views and lack of training. Because very often, associations think that they do not have the human resources, the time, the money, or the equipment adapted to accommodate people with disabilities. I even saw it with my judo club in Toulouse. One of the judo teachers is also an educator for the disabled and together we were able to develop a partnership with the institute for young blind people to welcome new people to the club. While working at Judo Canada in Montreal, I was able to see the disabled judo team doing the same training as the national judo team. In Canada, they don’t differentiate as much between Olympic and Paralympic sport for training. One of the areas for improvement is education and awareness-raising around the inclusion of disabilities and social minorities.

8. How can sports be a powerful tool for sustainable development and peace?

Athletes are role models for society. Their notoriety can be a great advantage for developing all types of projects around social entrepreneurship. There are also great similarities between sporting and entrepreneurial careers. We can find high-level sports skills to manage a social enterprise and carry out projects such as resilience, patience, the ability to set goals and stick to them, surpass oneself, dare to go furthe. The Olympic Games have been a symbol of peace and international cooperation since ancient times. In general, sport can be the gateway to greater action, to create social bonds, break down barriers and be in better health to form a society.

9. Can you share concrete examples of projects using sports to create a positive social impact?

With Yunus Sports Hub we are developing numerous projects, around the inclusion of refugees and exiles, training in social entrepreneurship, funds for investment or the development of Social Business. For example,

• Binko is a trash can of the future that automatically sorts wastes when you put it in the
• P2c is a rugby helmet to anticipate player concussions and be able to treat them as best as
• MooveToi offers sports classes as a remedy for the elderly, obese or
• AtmosGear are the roller skates of the future: the first electric roller skates for gentle mobility and no longer using the car for short
• Footeuses + Sports Africa promotes women’s sport in Africa to increase visibility and propel women’s
• Tako is the first ping pong table 100% made in Africa

10. What role can international organizations play in promoting sports as a tool for sustainable development?

I encourage international organizations and individuals who work in large groups to develop intrapreneurship. It’s about launching an entrepreneurial project within the company itself. There are lots of different entrepreneur profiles. You don’t have to give up everything to start from scratch to be a good entrepreneur. You can also try to bring your project within an existing organization. This is actually what I started doing with Décathlon. I first wanted to acquire skills in sales, professional positions and financial stability before designing new projects. Décathlon also has its own incubator in France to allow entrepreneurs to test their ideas and get started with initial funding from their own side.

11. What advice would you give to young people interested in getting involved in social entrepreneurship?

I encourage young people to start naturally developing project coordination. It can start very simply, by organizing a party, a local sporting event or an artistic and cultural workshop. With event skills, you can start to build partnerships and develop new skills without realizing it. Developing a project, finding innovative ways to finance yourself and seeing it through to the end is the best possible teaching. The ability to adapt and know how to make mistakes is also essential. This is also Professor Yunus’ philosophy: start small but start anyway and do it with joy! Finally, the meaning found in social entrepreneurship goes beyond anything that can be found elsewhere. It is a spark, a flame that burns inside us and that excites us. It’s what makes us alive.

12. What are your sources of inspiration for your work?

My main sources of daily motivation are the people I support who are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Professor Yunus is also a great source of inspiration for me. Before joining the Yunus Sports Hub and Yunus France, I read the books and works of Professor Yunus. I am very inspired by his philosophy, his way of breaking the codes to develop micro-credit and social entrepreneurship throughout the world. All his speeches invite us to take action and make us feel more capable than ever.

13. What do you see as the most promising trends in sports and sustainable development?

There is an increasing ecological awareness, particularly among future generations. We even talk about eco-anxiety. I also recommend the film “Bigger than us” by Flore Vasseur, co-produced by Marion Cotillard, which follows the journey of young social entrepreneurs who act for a better world. With Yunus France, we are developing Yunus Social Business Centers in universities and 3 zeros clubs to give students access to the concept of social businesses to achieve a 3 zeros world:

• Zero poverty
• Zero unemployment
• Zero carbon emissions

SED-DU Chapter is dedicated to providing students with:
– Opportunities to develop their skills/knowledge, network with professionals, entrepreneurs, connect with like-minded students
– Access to workshops, guest speakers, industry events
– A platform to make a difference in the community, explore their career interests

Committee members details are given below –
1. Sabrina Rahman Suchi, President.
2. MD. Ahaduzzaman, General Secretary.
3. Nader Islam Tamim, Assistant General Secretary.
4. Rudaba Tasnim Tahrima, Assistant General Secretary.
5. Shafera Siddique, Operation Manager of HR.
6. Satabdi Biswas, Operation Manager of IT.
7. Faria Anam Liuny, Operation Manager of Content.
8. Mohammad Farabi Rahman Shrabon, Operation Manager of Communication and Promotion.

My name is Saida Ibrahimava from Belarus. I graduated from Charles University in Prague.

2. Were you involved with any kind of activities during your study?

I have started volunteer for various NGOs since 14 years old. After I have graduated and spent several years networking with like-minded people around the world at youth events, I have co-founded Youth to Youth Initiative.

3. If yes, what were the skills that you gained by doing those activities?

Being open-minded, communicative and action oriented helped me a lot to understand what I want and start my journey. Ability to listen to others and learn from peers built up my professional profile and formed me as a change-maker.

4. Tell us a brief about your current role and how did you get there?

I am the Co-founder of Youth to Youth Initiative  – international organization focused on youth development and sustainability. The organization was built out of frustration that there is a lack of spaces where young people can speak up, share with peers, test their ideas and find potential partners. Y2Y was formed into an organization with social enterprise status back in 2015 after we tested the first Y2Y International Summits as an alternative platform for youth to learn from their peers, share and cooperate with them.

5. Tell us about the impact you are creating for your community.

Y2Y annually gathers dozens of early social entrepreneurs, hundreds of local activists and educations, and thousands of passionate youth from more than 90 countries. It offers young people not only global networking, a safe space for testing their bold ideas and leadership education but intercultural dialogue, co-creation, and, most importantly, it offers the stage for youth to speak up and share their vision, challenge and solution.

Y2Y operates more than 6 years in the international arena and I am happy that for this period of time, I and the team of Y2Y were able to equip almost half a million youth with the necessary tools for their professional and personal development. Some of our alumni have overgrown us becoming internationally recognized social businesses, impacting themselves hundred of thousands of people in disadvantaged backgrounds. Some of them have taken leadership positions in their governments, making important decisions. Some of them have found that leadership is not their path as they discovered their true purpose. All of them, hopefully, became a bit more sure in themselves, their powers, and their abilities. All of them, definitely, made us better.

6. What do you think about the future skills needed for the Youths to excel in their field?

I believe that there are several skills that will definitely benefit anyone, especially young people. First, the ability to create a common reality with others, i.e. the ability to listen and relate to others. This is vital for any proper communication. Second skill is the ability to simplify. This is the tough one as we are living in a highly complex world surrounded by tons of information and million of people. But this skill can ease the effort to learn and to explain your learnings. And the last one is the ability to act disregards possible mistakes and failures. This is the scariest one for many people but it can bring so many insights that no research can give.

7. What’s your dream?

I am a big fan of sustainability education and my long-time dream is to transform existing secondary education into a more practical, connected to the challenges of the real world institutions with elements of social entrepreneurship, vocational trainings and mindfulness practices. I think its important to give young people tools that will not limit their freedom but expand their mind and will prepare them for the real life outside of academia.

I am from Bogotá, Colombia, as a child I created imaginary companies such as doggy day care, real estate agent and I played to be a television presenter. I think it was a reflection of what I was going to do when I was older. I studied Business Administration and Environmental Management at the University of Monserrate and I have taken courses in digital marketing, photography and design, although I do not work in these subjects. I like to learn and know things that are not directly from my work, to open my head to other ways of doing. I like business books and books that talk about the evolution of the human being, I don’t like novels, or books on self-improvement. I don’t like seafood, I really like meat, pasta, coffee, wine and beer. I like listening to stories more than telling stories, my zodiac sign is Libra.

Were you involved with any kind of activities during your study? (Volunteer, business etc)

Yes! Since school I have been a volunteer in different organizations. In 3 semester of the university I began to undertake, there were more failures than successes, but always with the desire to fear my own company. In 6th semester I volunteered to AIESEC where I was until I finished classes.

If yes, what were the skills that you gained by doing those activities?

Teamwork, time management, networking, team management, negotiation and communication skills. I developed a lot of empathy because I worked with people from different countries and with very different life stories, so we all saw the world in different ways.

Tell us a brief about your current role and how did you get there?

I am a facilitator of organizational culture and mentality. Through creative activities and consulting I accompany processes of recognition, understanding, design and appropriation of culture in organizations. I got to work on this issue after a professional crisis, where I felt very frustrated and without connecting with what I was doing, so I began to review all my experiences and identify the good and the bad of each one, finding that what had brought good results, better relationships and the creation of great projects was to promote individuality and that is done through culture.

Tell us about the impact you are creating for your community.

Mindset and culture work has long-term results. That is why I believe that maintaining healthy spaces to speak, share, listen and question how we do things or how we react to them is one of the greatest contributions of my work. This consistency has generated projects to work and talk about failures in companies enabling innovation processes in Colombia. At the same time, we work in partnership with one of the government entities to enable healthy spaces to share learnings and failures in public innovation, to build the mentality of growth and innovation in the public sector.

What do you think about the future skills needed for the Youths to excel in their field?

I believe that although the future is more automated and we will be able to rely more on technology, the most required skill will be to have humanity. By supporting our processes in technology and with the new normal that invites us to be more global and separate ourselves from a physical space, it is essential that we develop or strengthen skills that we call “soft” but which are the ones that we least know how to use: communication, identity, management of change and critical thinking.

What’s your dream?

That we enjoy our “jobs”, I like to call them “doing” I believe that our “jobs” are the way we experience our life in this world, that’s why my dream is that we enjoy everything we do, that’s why I work with organizations empowering people, all through organizational culture.