Cheryl Kernot and social entrepreneurs at JCU

“Social entrepreneurship has become a global phenomenon and is a major source of social change and social innovation,” forum convenor Dr Narayan Gopalkrishnan said.

“We already have some success stories in our region of enterprises that aim to address social problems and effect social change, and we hope to learn from these as we discuss how to support and encourage further development.”

The forum will bring together all those with an interest in social enterprise, including social entrepreneurs, non-government agencies, policy makers, academics, students and funders.

“Our key focus is to explore the opportunities for building social entrepreneurship in Far North Queensland,” Dr Gopalkrishnan said. “Social entrepreneurship accounts for 8.7% of overall entrepreneurial activity in Australia, and we see potential for growth in our region.”

Local social enterprises represented at the forum will include: Clean Care Cairns (which provides opportunities for people having difficulty entering the workforce), The Power of Pallets, enVizion (which specialises in development programs), CentaOne, The Streets Movement, Café One and Café Connect.

Ms Kernot, who is one of the National Trust’s 100 National Living Treasures, was previously the Director of Learning at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London, and Program Director for the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurs at the Said Business School at Oxford.

The forum will be held at The Cairns Institute at James Cook University in Smithfield on Thursday 31 May from 8.30am to 1.30pm.