Gerry Higgins

SEWF - Social Enterprise World Forum C.I.C.

Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) was established in 2008 by national social enterprise support agencies seeking a means to advance social enterprise development globally. Bringing together social enterprise practitioners, support agencies, investors, public, private and government representatives, the inaugural event in Edinburgh in 2008 provided a platform to bring together social enterprise leaders and champions from all continents to collaborate, share best practice and plan future developments. This collaboration raised awareness of social enterprise as an expanding global mechanism for social change and explored the merit of ongoing collaboration for event stakeholders. Subsequent forums were planned and held in Melbourne in 2009 and San Francisco in 2010. The event quickly gained momentum and recognition as a springboard for progressing the sector and establishing global relations; stimulating local agencies to bid to host the event in South Africa in 2011, Rio de Janeiro in 2012, Calgary in 2013, Seoul in 2014, Milan in 2015 and our most recent hybrid event held both online and in-person in Brisbane in 2022. Our upcoming event, SEWF23 will be held in Amsterdam. Each event has reflected SEWF's values of: Commitment to social justice; Equality of opportunity; Emphasis on education; and Commitment to excellence. The interest in the event and the legacy it has left in each host country has prompted the SEWF Board to change the role of the company and its objectives from just a committee supporting event hosts, to catalysts for change in the sector.